Minister calls for pupils’ backlog of work to justify summer grades

TEENAGERS should use past essays and achievements in school to “justify” the grades they achieve, a senior minister has said, as she acknowledged that universities and employers may lack confidence that this summer’s qualifications “have the same status as before”.

Chloe Smith, the Cabinet Office minister, admitted that this summer’s GCSE and A-level grades risked being “undermined” by fears that they are based on insufficiently precise assessments.

A statistical model will be used to calculate the majority of the results that will be issued later this month, after all exams were axed this year as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ms Smith, 38, who attended comprehensive schools in Norfolk, warned that pupils had faced disruption to exams that amounted to their “ticket to the future”.

Her comments came in an essay in a new pamphlet to be published by the One Nation group of Conservative MPs. In another essay, John Penrose, the former minister who edited the collection, separately calls for universities to begin publishing annual data showing the employment rates and average salaries of graduates on each course.

Ms Smith lists six policy proposals to help ensure a “fair recovery” from Covid-19. One states: “Ensure qualifications are not undermined, by using each student’s prior work to justify and prove their grades, so universities, colleges and employers have confidence that this summer’s grades have the same status as before.”

Her comments came after Sally Collier, chief regulator at Ofqual, the exams watchdog, said that schools should look at other evidence such as a student’s “potential” rather than grades alone.

In a letter to head teachers, Ms Collier said schools could also give “slightly more weight than usual” to a pupil’s reference from their previous school which could be considered alongside their grades. The letter marked a change in tone for Ofqual, which had previously insisted that this year’s results will be just as valid as other years.

Ms Smith also states that the Government should “help young learners get back to their school, college or university as quickly as possible” by implementing safety guidance and “focusing on innovation and freedom” to help resume learning.

She warns: “Children of all ages, from nursery to sixth form, have suffered a loss of developmental and educational time at their usual school.

“Some have faced disruption to their important exams, their ticket to the future ... evidence is clear that the poorest children, the most disadvantaged children, the children who do not always have support they need at home, will be the ones who will fall furthest behind when school gates are closed. They are the ones who will miss out on the opportunities and chances in life.”

Meanwhile, Mr Penrose states: “Let’s give power to the pupils by shedding more light on the most important decision of most students’ lives so far.

“Transparently publishing information every year to show the one and three year employment rates and average salaries of graduates from every higher education and further education courses at every college and university would mean pupils would be able to choose the best-value course in whichever subject, and from whichever college or university is right for them.

“They already get, and expect, this for every other decision they take. How can it be right or fair for education to be worse?”

‘Children of all ages ... have suffered a loss of developmental and educational time’