The Government has outlined arrangements for exams in England in 2021 as schools and pupils deal with the disruption caused by the COVID pandemic.
In October, it was announced that exams in 2021 will go ahead – although, starting three weeks later than usual. Working with Ofqual, and a range of stakeholders including unions, exam boards, HE and FE bodies, students & parents, and equalities organisations, the Government has sought to ensure that exams next year will be safe and as fair as possible for all students.
Adaptations to 2021 Exams
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Grading for 2021 GCSE and A Level exams will be aligned with the overall standards from 2020.
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Ofqual is working with Vocational and Technical Qualification (VTQ) awarding organisations to ensure their approaches to grading mean that students taking VTQs and other general qualifications are not disadvantaged.
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Adaptations will be made to help students find the prospect of taking exams next summer less stressful, including advance information about the topic areas to be covered, and exam support materials for some subjects.
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Greater flexibility will be given for VTQs on performance tables, including permitting a reduction in the number of assessments to be taken.
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Establishing an expert advisory group to monitor the variation in the impact of the pandemic on students, and make recommendations to government on how to account for this.
Contingency measures for exams 2021
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The Government is exploring how we can use testing to release students who may otherwise need to be self-isolating, to ensure students can sit their exams safely
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If a student legitimately misses an exam next year due to self-isolation or sickness, but had completed a sufficient proportion of their qualification, then the existing special consideration process will be used to award a grade.
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If a student legitimately misses all their exam papers in their exam papers in a subject, they will have the opportunity to sit a contingency paper held shortly after the summer series, in early July
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For the small minority who might legitimately miss the main series and the contingency paper, they will have an opportunity to be awarded a grade based on a validated teacher assessment.
Remote Education
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The government has reviewed remote education guidance and published updated expectations to provide further clarity for schools, parents and pupils.
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Primary schools will be expected to provide a minimum of three hours a day on average of remote education, with secondary schools expected to provide at least four hours’ worth.
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Schools will also be expected to frequently check and provide feedback on pupils’ work, at least weekly, and inform parents immediately where engagement is a concern.
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The Government intends to ask schools to publish information about their remote education offer on their website during the spring term, so parents and pupils know what to expect.
