By Sheila Mckenzie-
The Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation(Ofqual) that regulates qualifications, examinations and assessments in England has today assured pupils they will get the fairest results for their exams.
Ofqual has today said that in order to make grades consistent between schools and colleges and comparable over time, teachers and teaching unions have overwhelmingly supported the use of standardisation when consulted on this year’s arrangements.
The regulator said that the vast majority of the grades awarded for about 5 million G.C.S.E and A level students will be within one grade of the centre assessment grades submitted by teachers this year.
The exams regulator stated that a standardisation model being used will make adjustments to teachers’ grades where needed in order to ensure a level playing field for students at different schools and colleges .
Statisticians and assessment experts tested 12 different standardisation models and selected the one which was the most accurate and fairest.
Under the special considerations for assessing student’s marks, exam boards will look at the history of grades at the school or college and at the grades that this year’s students have achieved in previous exams. This will help them to measure how far a school or college may have overestimated or underestimated their grades compared to other centres.
Judgement
The grades are awarded wholly on the judgement of teachers, or on a combination of teacher judgement and statistics. Where the statistics indicates a school or college has been over-optimistic (or too pessimistic), students will be moved up or down according to the teachers’ views as to which pupils were closest to the grade boundary.
Adjustments will vary across schools and colleges, 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 moderation process.
Consultation
The regulator admitted that the eventual grades awarded to pupils would eventually favour some pupils more than others. They said there would be young people who would have most likely earned a C in an exam receiving an A-grade. Lastly, it would mean such an increase in the numbers of top grades, that they would no longer be credible, something that has happened in other countries, dealing with the same circumstances.
However, a student can ask their school to check what they submitted, to check for errors. Schools and colleges can also appeal if they feel that the moderation process has not adequately taken account of changes in the make up of this years’ entry, for example if a school has been taken over and re-organised; or if it can show grades are lower than expected because students this year are very different from past years.
Best Estimate
Ofqual insists that students will overall get the best estimate that can be made of the grade they would have achieved if exams had gone ahead. It insists a system of calculated grades and a statistical model can never know how an individual student might have performed on the day. The examining board however admits that some students might have done better (or worse) had they taken an exam, but we will never know.
Ofsted assured parents and pupils that their professional colleagues across higher and further education have committed to showing flexibility in their admissions decisions.
Although the process of moderation is essential to ensure results are as fair as possible. The regulator also said that students from all backgrounds, including more disadvantaged and black, ethnic minority and Asian communities – have not been disadvantaged by this year’s awarding process. That is reassuring, but it is important that individuals are able to have their complaints heard if they feel they have been discriminated against.
Under the new arrangements, students will get the best estimate that can be made of the grade they would have achieved if exams had gone ahead. But 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 that some students might have done better had they taken an exam, but we will never know.
Colleagues across higher and further education understand this, and many have committed to showing flexibility in their admissions decisions. This will be welcome news for students who are intending to move on to further study in the autumn.
Ofqual also said that the approach taken is the fairest way to award grades without exams. But we understand that this does nothing to reduce the frustration of students who believe they would have been able to achieve a better grade, if they had had the chance to sit an exam. Also, we recognise that any process of this sort will produce results that need to be reviewed, which is why we have put in place an appeals process.
The system of exam grade calculation is expected to help students get the best estimate that can be made of the grade they would have achieved if exams had gone ahead. But 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 that some students might have done better (or worse) had they taken an exam, but we will never know.