With exams cancelled how will students be graded this year?

Since neither GCSE, A-Level, or As level exams will be taking place this summer, how will students` grades be calculated? The Department for Education has decided that pupils` teachers will be the ones to decide their final mark, declaring that `we will ask those who know students best.` This decision was reached after a lengthy consultation with the exams regulator Ofqual, and conducting a large public survey, which showed there was broad support for the proposal.

Pupils have been assured they will only be assessed on what they have been taught. Having missed so much classroom time because of the pandemic, there have been concerns that the greater part of the syllabus for each subject has not been covered. Addressing this point the DOE has been clear that students will not be appraised on any parts of their course they have not been taught.

The Education secretary Gavin Williamson outlined the plan last month, telling the Commons: `This year`s students will receive grades determined by their teachers, with assessments covering what they were taught and not what they have missed. Teachers have a good understanding of their students` performance and how they compare to other students this year and from those of previous years.`

How exactly will teachers assess their students? The DOE has said that in due course they will be provided with `clear guidance to support them in assessing their students.` The general proposal is that teachers will consult a wide range of academic evidence for each pupil, most likely mock exams, coursework, and other schoolwork. This may sound rather vague right now, but teachers will certainly receive more guidance as the summer term approaches.

The exam boards will have some part to play here, as it appears they will be providing `optional sets of questions for teachers to use to help them gather evidence.` How much weighting these questions will have is as yet unspecified, but it seems teachers will have some jurisdiction as to which are selected, in order to ensure pupils are not tested on parts of the syllabus they have not been taught.

Teachers must ensure that all grades are submitted by Friday 18th June 2021. Results will be announced on Monday 9th of August, a week earlier than normal, in order to allow extra time for what may well be a lengthy appeals process.

Many concerns have already been raised that this method is not a suitable substitute for a written examination, and will lead to many pupils receiving a grade that does not represent their true potential. Cognisant of these apprehensions, the Department of Education has issued a number of points to reassure parents and students, guaranteeing the whole process will be as fair and equitable as it can possibly be.

One of these points is that students can be informed which parts of their work will be used to assess them. Teachers will be examining over two years of work, and selecting that which they think provides a fair representation of the pupils` abilities. Pupils shall be able to request knowledge as to what exactly their teacher has submitted, and will be permitted to voice any mitigating factors they feel may have negatively affected their work.

Exam boards will provide guidance throughout the whole process, carrying out `both a representative sample of all schools and colleges, and more targeted checks using risk-based criteria,` according to the DOE.

Students will still have the right to appeal their grade, as in any other year. If they believe there has been some kind of administrative error, or their school did not assess their work properly, they will have the option to appeal. Other grounds for appealing their grade could be certain mitigating factors that could have affected their work over the course, such as a bereavement, or a mental health concern due to the lockdowns. The appeal will be made with the school initially, who will perform an internal appraisal as to the validity of the grading. If their judgement leaves the grade unchanged, the student will have the option to raise the appeal with the exam boards, who will themselves assess the teacher`s assessment.

There may be an option for students to actually sit their exam in the autumn or winter, but this is only a speculative proposition at the moment, and may well only apply to vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs). As things stand it is unlikely any actual GCSE, A-Level, or As level exams will be taken this year - but the DOE has not ruled out the possibility that this may change.

With all the uncertainty over their education, students may be relieved to learn that no algorithm shall be involved in the calculation of their final grade. The whole debacle of last year`s gradings, where thousands of students had their results significantly downgraded, will at least be avoided. The succession of disruptive events to students` education - repeated lockdowns, school closures, cancellation of exams - is now hopefully coming to an end. They will truly be the covid generation, having shared a traumatic and prolonged experience throughout a formative time of their life; but with enough self resilience and assistance, their life prospects need not be curtailed.