By Gabriel Princewill-
The Department Of Education has admitted they did not foresee the easing of the lockdown when they cancelled G.C.S.E and A level exams this year
The D&E told The Eye Of Media.Com. there was no way they could have foreseen the viability of postponing exams which would have been made possible with the easing of the lockdown in May, notwithstanding the fact the option to delay exams had been considered at the time and dismissed.
Exams across the Uk were cancelled this year to stem the spread of Covid-19, with Ofqual, and the Department Of Education settling for provisional arrangements that meant using an imperfect process of teacher assessment based on previous mock tests and other academic assessments in class.
The decision led to thousands of A level students being downgraded, leading to wide disenchantment, and causing the biggest controversy in education seen in modern times.
The moderation initially left pupils feeling disconcerted, as headteachers , parents, and education unions, decried the process which had the potential to disrupt the future of countless students, left to pick up the pieces of a disaster they did not create. Many students were already contemplating resits.
In a massive U turn, The British government reverted to the original plans of teacher assessments, much to the elation of students who through no fault of theirs were facing the prospect of missing out on the university of their choice.
When presented with the question of why exams were not postponed in March, rather than delayed.
A spokesperson for the Department Of Education told The Eye Of Media.Com there was no way they could have foreseen the viability of postponing exams which would have been made more possible with the easing of the lockdown, notwithstanding the fact the option to delay exams had been considered at the time and dismissed.
Avenue Of Exam Delay Missed
Looking back retrospectively, exams could have been delayed until June or July, even if it meant pushing back the start of the new term in September for Universities by a few weeks, but for some strange reason, both Ofqual and the Department Of Education did not adopted this idea at the time. Strangely enough, neither Ofqual nor the Department Of Education adopted this idea at the time. Instead, they cancelled exams.
”There was no way to know whether exams would have been possible by delaying them because there would not have been enough time for exams to be marked in time for the new academic year”, the D&E spokesperson said. We could only work with the information we had at the time, he added”.
Social Distancing
The issue of social distancing was easily solvable by being innovative in the manner of spreading out students throughout the day in various classrooms. Given the present state of affairs in which the easing of the lockdown has led to social mixing, it would have been more beneficial for some mechanism to have been explored in ensuring students across England were able to sit their exams. This was the most fair and reasonable way for students to obtain a grade consistent with their actual performance.
The idea of centre assessed grades was deemed the best way forward, but could not possibly give an accurate reflection of how they would have performed under exam conditions, with more time to prepare
Undoubtedly, the cancellations suited some students, but not the vast majority, whom no matter the estimation of their teachers, deserved the right to defy any unfavourable expectations about their eventual performance.
In the final analysis, the Department Of Education was compelled to stick to the predictions of teachers, using mock exams and overall class assessments up until the time of school closures in March.
Chief regulator, Sally Collier, resigned and the Department for Education’s permanent story , Jonathan Slater, also bowed out as a result of the exam s fiasco.
The Department Of Education now says it has contingency plans in place in the event of a similar scenario next year, to avoid the chaos which occurred this year.
A DfE spokesperson said:“Getting all children back into their classrooms full-time in September is a national priority, because it is the best place for their education, development and well being.
“We expect exams to take place next year and are working with Ofqual and the exam boards on our approach, recognising that students will have experienced considerable disruption to their education this year.
“Following a public consultation, Ofqual has proposed a number of measures including a possible short delay to the exam timetable and subject-specific changes to reduce pressure on teaching time, that will help ensure those young people taking exams next year have the same opportunities to progress as the students before them.”