By Sheila Mckenzie-
England’s exams regulator, Ofqual, warned the British government of the risk of widespread dissatisfaction with its emergency grading system.
Ofqual’s Chairman, Roger Taylor, told MPs there were good reasons to attempt it, including fairness between schools and continuity from year to year.
He admitted other options were available, such as delaying exams or schools could have issued certificates.
Mr Taylor was giving evidence to the Commons Education Select Committee, as he defended Ofqual’s approach to calculating grades for exams cancelled by the pandemic, saying it was trying to carry out ministerial guidelines.
Eventually, the moderation process was abandoned in a dramatic U-turn which saw the Department Of Education revert to teachers’ grades.
The chief regulator, Sally Collier, resigned and the Department for Education’s most senior civil servant, Jonathan Slater, stepped down following the exams chaos.
The Ofqual chairman told MPs that he and other officials had repeatedly warned the Department for Education of risks in the system.
Julie Swann, Ofqual’s executive director for general qualifications, said a paper on May 1 “highlighted the risk of widespread dissatisfaction” with the grades to be awarded from students, schools and colleges.
Valid Mocks
Mr Taylor, also revealed Ofqual guidance on using “valid mock” exam results to widen the appeals process was removed from the Ofqual website following an intervention from England’s education secretary.
Mr Williamson had decided to allow what he described as “valid mocks” to be used in appeals, after a standardisation process – using a now discredited algorithm that had lowered around 40% of A-levels from the grades submitted by teachers.
Mr Taylor said Mr Williamson telephoned the chief regulator, Sally Collier, late on a Saturday night, August 15, after Ofqual published new appeals guidance, saying it was not consistent with the education secretary’s policy.
Mr Taylor said the board then met in emergency session to try to find a way through a situation which was rapidly “spinning out of control”.
“We advised the Secretary of State at this point that we could not be confident that this could be delivered within the statutory duties of Ofqual to ensure that valid and trustworthy grades were being issued.”