By Gavin Mackintosh-
Exam regulator, Ofqual, has warned teachers in the UK not to be influenced by parental pressure or even the perception of pupil behaviour.
The warning comes after exams in the UK, were cancelled for the second year running , due to concerns surrounding the pandemic.
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The submission of final grades by schools can begin to submit from May 26, up until a deadline of June 18, the guidance confirms.
School heads have raised fears that the switch to teacher assessment is likely to lead to pressure from parents with “pointy elbows and lawyer friends”.
Last year saw some angry parents confront teachers over disputed final grades in the wake of the grading debacle, later rectified through a return to teacher assessments,
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Ofqual published a guidance on Thursday, urging schools to be “careful” to avoid teachers being “put under pressure from students, parents, or carers, to submit grades that are higher than the evidence supports”.
It adds that heads of centres should “keep records of such cases” and that they might be required to report to the exam boards “any cases where they believe inappropriate pressure is being put on teachers”.
Exam boards may treat such cases as “potential malpractice”, Ofqual said.
The guidance also requires heads to declare that judgments “have not been influenced by pressure from students, parents or carers”. This was not in the draft guidance.
Emphasising the importance of objectivity in awarding grades, the exam regulator added that grades should not be impacted by pupil behaviour.
Clarifying its points, it states grades should not be affected by a student’s positive or negative behaviour, character or personality, appearance, performance of their siblings, parental opinions or the “knowledge of grades needed to meet a university offer”.
Schools should also be aware of other effects, such as confirmation bias, and “halo effects”, where a positive impression of a student “overly accentuates” their actual skills and abilities.
Its final guidance released today states that “as far as possible”, the sources of evidence should be consistent across a class or cohort of students, and schools should record the reasons for their selection.
Instances Of Consistent Evidence
School will also have to document the rationale for “any instances” where consistent evidence is not used for a whole class or cohort.
Teachers have also been told to take historic results of their schools into account when reaching grades.
The use of previous grades will also let schools check they have not been “overly harsh or lenient” in their assessments. If the results look “very different” to recent years, schools need to record the “likely reasons” for that, as exam boards may ask to see it if the school is picked for external checks.
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