Exam chief defends marking system
The head of the exam regulator has defended this year’s controversial A-level and GCSE grading system as he claims that allowing teachers’ predicted grades to go unchecked would have created “perpetual unfairness”.
Speaking out for the first time about the statistical model used to calculate students’ grades, the chairman of the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) insisted that this was the “fairest possible way” to award marks.
Writing in The Sunday Telegraph, Roger Taylor said that simply awarding pupils with their teachers’ predicted grades would mean that the credibility of their qualifications would be in tatters.
It came as Boris Johnson said keeping schools closed risked being more damaging than coronavirus itself.
Schools would be the last to shut down in the event of a second wave, the Prime Minister added. Mr Johnson said the country had a "moral duty" to reopen schools next month. In an oped for The Mail on Sunday he said the resumption of teaching is a "national priority".
A-level results day is on Thursday, when officials are braced for a storm of criticism that disadvantaged children have been unfairly punished by this year’s system.
“It would create a perpetual unfairness between this year’s grades compared to past and future generations,” Mr Taylor said.
He said: “There would be young people who would have most likely earned a C in an exam receiving an A grade. Lastly, it would mean such an increase in the numbers of top grades, that they would no longer be credible, something that has happened in other countries, dealing with the same circumstances.”
An analysis by Ofqual has found that teachers have bumped-up predicted A-level marks by 12 per cent on average and GCSE marks by 9 per cent.
Results day in Scotland on August 4 was branded a “shambles” after close to 125,000 predicted grades were downgraded by the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA).
Those from the poorest parts of Scotland were more than twice as likely to see their Highers grade lowered than those from the richest areas.
However, Mr Taylor said that Ofqual’s early analysis shows that students from all backgrounds, including more disadvantaged and black, ethnic minority and Asian communities, have not been disadvantaged by this year’s grading process.
When students receive their grades, the majority will be predicted by a statistical model which takes into account their past performance as well as the past three years’ of exam results at their school.
The model, in conjunction with the rank order drawn up by teachers, will determine most pupils’ grades this year. One independent analysis of Ofqual's data suggests that nearly 40 per cent of A-level results could be downgraded.
This would mean that when pupils are awarded their A-levels next week, almost 300,000 grades will be lower than teachers’ predictions.
The analysis predicts that GCSEs will have a similar downgrade which means that close to two millions teachers’ predicted grades will be adjusted downwards.
Meanwhile, private schools are reportedly seeking legal advice as they prepare for a flood of appeals from parents ahead of A-level results day.
Education lawyers are said to be working with schools which could be hit with group appeals over this year’s results.
Mr Taylor acknowledged that the decision to cancel A-levels and GCSE exams this year caused “great uncertainty” for pupils, adding that they have experienced a “unique disruption” to their lives.
“We hope that the grades awarded will enable as many as possible to move on with their lives with the least possible difficulty,” he said.
