Roger Taylor:
Results day, whether for GCSEs or A-levels, is an emotional moment for young people. This year, it will be especially so, as grades are being awarded without having had the chance to prove their knowledge and skills in exams. Instead, grades are being awarded on the basis of teacher judgments, moderated to ensure consistency and fairness.
About five million GCSE, AS and A-level grades will be issued. We expect the majority to be within one grade of the centre assessment grades submitted by teachers. We know teachers worked hard to deliver this year’s arrangements, and credit must be given for their professionalism and care. We thank them for making these exceptional arrangements work fairly.
When the Secretary of State took the difficult decision to cancel exams, it meant great uncertainty for students. In response, the education sector came together to develop and deliver the fairest possible way to recognise student achievement.
Our aim has been to support students to progress to university, college, training or work, so that they can move on. This year, the system of calculated grades will provide students with their ticket to do that.
But for that ticket to have the same value as in any other year, it is essential that grades are consistent between schools and colleges and comparable over time. This is why teachers and teacher unions have overwhelmingly supported the use of standardisation when we consulted on this year’s arrangements.
Our standardisation makes adjustments to teachers’ grades where needed, to ensure a level playing field – in lots of ways, this is no different to what happens every year with teachermarked course work; it’s just operating at a much larger scale.
To get this right, we tested 12 different standardisation models and selected the one that was the most accurate and fair.
In practice, this means exam boards will look at the history of grades at the school or college and at the grades this year’s students have achieved in previous exams. This allows boards to measure how far a school or college has most likely overestimated or underestimated their grades compared with other centres.
Some reports suggest some grades are awarded purely on the basis of statistics. This is untrue. They are awarded either wholly on the judgment of teachers or on a combination of teacher judgment and statistics.
Adjustments will vary and will only be made where the evidence can support it, but a substantial number of students will receive at least one grade that has been adjusted as a result of the process.
Allowing teacher-estimated grades to stand would have resulted in unfairness between schools and colleges, this year and when compared with past and future generations. It would also mean an increase in top grades, meaning they may no longer be credible, something that has happened in other countries dealing with similar circumstances.
Our approach is the fairest way to award grades without exams. But we understand that this does not reduce the frustration of students who believe they would have achieved a better grade had they sat the exam. However, we recognise any process of this sort will produce results that need to be reviewed, which is why we have an appeals process.
In our consultation, most teachers said it would not be right for students to challenge their judgments. We agree: any appeal would have to be done by someone better placed than teachers to judge a student’s likely grade; but we do not believe there is such a person.
However, a student can ask their school to check for errors. Schools can also appeal if they feel the process has not adequately taken account of changes in the make-up of this year’s entry, for example, if a school has been taken over and reorganised.
Early analysis shows students from all backgrounds have not been disadvantaged by this process. That’s reassuring, but it is important that individuals can be heard if they feel they have been discriminated against.
Of course, a system of calculated grades and a statistical model can never know how an individual student might have performed on the day. These are best estimates, and it is possible some students would have done better (or worse) had they taken an exam, but we will never know.
Colleagues in the sector understand this, and have committed to flexibility in their decisions. This is welcome news for students who intend to move on to further study.
To all students receiving their results, I wish them well. They have experienced a unique disruption to their lives.
It is important that individuals can be heard if they feel they have been discriminated against