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Gavin Williamson has written to Ofqual about their upcoming consultation on this year's exams, and it contains some *ahem* fairly bold aspirations....
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/951797/Letter_from_Gavin_Williamson_to_Simon_Lebus.pdf
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/951797/Letter_from_Gavin_Williamson_to_Simon_Lebus.pdf
"the consultation should set out proposals which allow students to be assessed based on what they have learnt, rather than against content they have not had a chance to study."
This pretty much rules out any national approach to setting mock exams or similar tests.
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This pretty much rules out any national approach to setting mock exams or similar tests.
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"Schools and colleges should undertake quality assurance of their teachers’ assessments and provide reassurance to the exam boards."
Not sure that will provide anyone with much reassurance. Tough position for exam boards - what will they be responsible for, if anything?
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Not sure that will provide anyone with much reassurance. Tough position for exam boards - what will they be responsible for, if anything?
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This paragraph is also crucial.
Essentially DfE do not want any changes made to teacher-assessed grades unless there is overwhelming evidence of errors / malpractice while also proposing a light-touch quality assurance system that will make errors / malpractice hard to spot.
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Essentially DfE do not want any changes made to teacher-assessed grades unless there is overwhelming evidence of errors / malpractice while also proposing a light-touch quality assurance system that will make errors / malpractice hard to spot.
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Ofqual's response to Gavin's letter about this summer's exams also contains some subtle but important lines being drawn in the sand.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/951778/SL_to_SOS_2021-01-13.pdf
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https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/951778/SL_to_SOS_2021-01-13.pdf
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Ofqual: "Without exams we will not achieve the same degree of reliability and validity as in normal years ...this is because Ofqual and AOs normally use a range of tools to secure consistent standards between students, and over time, which will not be possible this year"
Ah.
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Ah.
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Ofqual "the more the evidence comes from students’ performance in externally set papers, the fairer and more consistent teachers’ assessments are likely to be, because all students are given the chance to show what they can do in the same way" = they want some form of exams.
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Ofqual: "we will expect exam boards to make sure schools and colleges have effective arrangements in place to determine a fair grade for their students ...it will not be possible for exam boards to review the evidence for every student before grades are issued."
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So it appears that exam boards will be asked to make sure schools / colleges do their jobs properly when handing out teacher-assessed grades, without actually checking that schools / colleges have done their jobs properly when handing out teacher-assessed grades.
Got it?
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Got it?
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Ofqual: "it is important that the consultation makes clear to all, especially those who rely on the results to make selection decisions, that overall outcomes this year will likely look different from 2020 and previous years."
Is even more grade inflation on the way?
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Is even more grade inflation on the way?
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