Mind the gap in all examination results

NEW detail and information around how this year’s exams in Wales were differently graded is a welcome step to transparency after this year’s results chaos.

Sadly, it shows there was a gap between those on free school meals and their more well-off peers, both before and after the algorithm was agreed to arrive at grades when exams were cancelled.

As an independent review, commissioned by the Welsh Government, gets under way, exam regulator Qualifications Wales has published a timely report laying out results arrived at by the algorithm – designed to standardise grades so they weren’t out of step with previous years – and the Centre Assessed Grades from teachers.

That the algorithm downgraded thousands of results was known before the report was published. But it lays out in detail what the differences were and how it all compares with previous years.

The regulator said it needed to standardise grades nationally so that they were similar to previous years, in order to retain confidence in the system.

The ensuing row, rather than retaining confidence, severely dented it.

The idea that we must ensure what has been an extraordinary exam year reflects previous normal years, when exams were sat, was flawed from the outset.

It’s easy to be wise with hindsight, but those in charge of our exam system had the time, salaries and expertise to come up with something better than the catastrophe that emerged.

Calling it a catastrophe is no exaggeration when some young people have lost places at university and medical school this year.

Whatever emerges from the independent review, what is clear from this year’s results, and those before them, is that there is a regrettable attainment gap between better-off students and their peers eligible for free school meals. That gap is evident both in the algorithm results and those awarded by teachers for Centre Assessed Grades.

As schools reopen this week in nervous circumstances thanks to Covid-19, major tasks lie ahead. Not only must they keep learners and staff as safe as possible, but they must also try to narrow the attainment gap.

They cannot do that alone. The Welsh Government must ensure the resources and funding are available to address disadvantage and its causes.