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So, how have other countries coped with their equivalent of the school leaving exams? Here are a few snapshots of what seems to have happened in some countries, with apologies in advance if things have changed (in a fast-changing situation!).
France used teacher judgements, but included a fairly simple corrective measure to iron out variation in grading levels across schools.
Germany ran their exams, as close to normal as possible. Spain postponed their exams and eventually ran simplified versions, with questions only on material taught before lockdown – I think they also adjusted university starting dates to deal with the exam delays.
In the Netherlands 50% of the school leaving outcomes are based on exams taken on previous occasions, so they just used these results as 100% of the final grades.
In Italy written exams were cancelled and the contribution of teacher assessment was raised from 40% to 60%. I understand the rest came from oral examinations which were run under social distancing rules.
In a number of other countries exams were cancelled, until the covid-19 situation had improved; were taken online; or were undertaken in strict distancing/hygiene conditions.
Many, but not all, of the approaches used have produced a slightly higher pattern of results in comparison with 2019, but this generally is seen as a price worth paying in what can only be considered to be an exceptional year.
In Norway about 80% of the final grades are based on coursework, so they just used this to provide the full grade.
