Concern over appeals for exam results
DETAILS of how appeals for this summer’s exam grades in Wales will work have been delayed following concerns from schools and colleges.
The appeals process policy was due to be published on Thursday but the delay came as parents and students expressed fresh concern over how assessments replacing cancelled exams are working in practice.
One headteacher described the workload put on schools as “unmanageable in some instances” and a student reported seeing teachers in tears in the classroom.
One teaching union said it has “serious concerns” about how the appeals process will work.
Exam regulator Qualifications Wales and exam board WJEC said there had to be “flexibility” in how assessments are done by teachers after so much disruption to education this year.
But teaching union UCAC said: “We are seriously concerned about the workability of the arrangements for this summer from the point of view of schools and colleges.
“It is a matter of getting the balance right between reliability and consistency of results on the one hand, and proportionality in terms of the demands on schools and colleges on the other.
“We urgently need the relevant authorities to look at how they can make the process manageable for schools, particularly in relation to appeals, taking into account the multiple levels of extraordinary demands on them at the moment.
“Everybody wants and needs this system to work, and we are ready to discuss workable options.”
Some parents and students predict “a row” in June when teacher assessed grades are given to students ahead of official results days in August to allow time for appeals.
Further details of how this appeals process will work for schools and colleges were due to be published by Qualifications Wales on Thursday, but the regulator said that has now been put back to May to allow further discussion. Students can appeal after being told the grades their teachers have given them in June.
The WJEC insisted “robust internal and external quality assurance processes” will ensure the process for exams is fair.
When exams were cancelled for a second year thanks to Covid a working group, the Design and Delivery Advisory Group, was set up by Welsh Government to agree alternatives.
Its plan to run internal and external assessments to replace exams also had to be scrapped when schools shut again in the third lockdown.
Now Centre Determined Grades will be awarded by teachers based on some internal sat assessment with past papers, coursework and past work and results also in the mix.
Exam board the WJEC and regulator Qualifications Wales are responsible for implementing plans arrived at by the working group with schools running and marking assessments and awarding GCSE and A level grades.
But some parents and students said although they trusted their teachers, too much variation has been allowed in how students are assessed for grades. Qualifications Wales confirmed it has asked an undisclosed number of schools to rewrite their assessment policies.
A WJEC spokesperson said: “Schools and colleges have a high degree of flexibility to select appropriate evidence to determine their learners’ grades this summer. Evidence can be based on a broad range of sources including past papers, centre devised tasks and coursework.
“Grades will be determined by schools and colleges to reflect a holistic, fair, reasonable and carefully considered judgement of each learner’s performance across a range of evidence, on the curriculum content that they have been taught.”
A Qualifications Wales spokesperson said: “Whilst there is flexibility, to promote consistency, schools and colleges have sent their centre assessment policies to WJEC to be checked as part of the quality assurance process.”