Theme: Outcomes of OFQUAL / DfE Consultation on how GCSE, AS and A-level grades should be awarded in Summer 2021
Background: A consultation (See Briefing 27) was carried out in January 2021. The rationale for proposing changes to traditional exams was this: Given students’ education has been disrupted by the pandemic, their interests will be best served if they engage fully with their education for the remainder of the academic year, if they are taught for as long as possible and if they cover as much of the curriculum as possible.
Key messages: These arrangements apply to the award of grades in 2021 only.
Abbreviated quotations from the article (25 February 2021) from OfQUAL Chief Regulator explaining the arrangements for 2021 to students (You = the student; We = OfQUAL)
For GCSEs, AS and A levels, teachers will assess the standard at which you are performing based only on what you have been taught … Teachers’ judgements should be based on a range of evidence relating to the subject content that your teachers have delivered, either in the classroom or via remote learning.
Teachers will be able to use evidence about your performance gathered throughout your course to inform their judgement. This might include work that you have already completed, mock exam results, homework or in-class tests. Your teachers may also use questions from exam boards, largely based on past papers, to help assess you, but this won’t be compulsory. Reasonable adjustments should be taken into account if you have a disability.
To read this Teacher Briefing in full please see here: Briefing 28 Outcomes of consultation on awarding grades in Summer 2021.