By Sheila Mckenzie-
Gavin Williamson is under attack, as growing pressure mounts for him to explain the spectacular backtrack on the re-opening of schools and how students will be awarded exam grades this summer.
Speaking in the Commons on Wednesday Williamson said it was “time to trust teachers, not algorithms,” and that school-based assessments would be used to award GCSE and A-level grades to avoid a repeat of last year’s exam disaster.
Proposals
Exams watchdog Ofqual is expected to draw up proposals for an alternative way of deciding results. It is to include qualifications that could be used for jobs, staying on in school or university places.
Simon Lebus, the watchdog’s interim head, said evidence for replacement grades could include tests, homework, mock exams and teachers’ observations – and would take into account how much of the syllabus had been covered.
Many primary schools children in the Uk have been moved to remote learning as a result of the Uk national lockdown. The government has set new targets of three to five hours of remote learning each day, and Ofsted has committed itself to investigating the implementation of those plans. It is unclear what support will be given to secondary school pupils who need assistance.
Frustration
School leaders expressed frustration on the lack of support or detail in the statement over how to prepare staff and students for assessing A-level, GCSE and BTec grades.
The Department Of Education (DfE) has also allowed pupils without access to digital devices or adequate study space at home to choose to attend school.
Mr. Williamson appeared before MPs in the Commons to explain the latest of a catalogue of delayed decisions, disastrous climbdowns and humiliating U-turns, will have done little to bolster his shattered reputation.
‘Williamson’s skill, if it is a skill, is making people lose the will to live’
The U-turns displayed by the Department Of Education has has come from the authority above. That hasn’t stopped him from becoming the fall guy arising out of unsteady guidelines about how schools should adapt to the pandemic.
Mr Williamson, in a statement to the House of Commons, said there would be “training and support” for teachers in estimating grades, “to ensure these are awarded fairly and consistently”.
Sats Tests
He also told MPs there would be no Sats tests for those at the end of primary school.
“I can absolutely confirm that we won’t be proceeding with Sats this year. We do recognise that this will be an additional burden on schools
Geoff Barton, leader of the ASCL head teachers’ union, said rather than a “vague statement” of how A-levels and GCSEs would be graded, ministers should already have a system ready in place – and it was a “dereliction of duty” that it was not already prepared.
Simon Lebus, the watchdog’s interim head, said evidence for replacement grades could include tests, homework, mock exams and teachers’ observations – and would take into account how much of the syllabus had been covered.
A consultation is expected to begin next week, with plans to be decided by the end of February or possibly sooner.
Last year’s attempts to find an alternative approach to exam results began with an algorithm, descended into chaos before being switched to using teachers’ grades.
An Ofqual spokeswoman said they would consider options for replacement exam results, academic and vocational, “to ensure the fairest possible outcome in the circumstances