INSIGHT

Calculated response

The unprecedented cancellation of exams requires tailored approaches to be adopted when determining results. It all depends on the qualifi cation in question, says Phil Beach

hen you heard that GCSEs and A Levels for summer 2020 were being cancelled, what was your fi rst thought? I expect that, like us at Ofqual, your instinct was to protect the interests of learners. We didn’t want learners to be disadvantaged from either making progress or taking their next steps as they had planned to.

As a teacher or trainer in the further education (FE) sector, you already know there are a wide variety of qualifi cations, taken by a wide range of learners for many different purposes. It is complex! That’s why, when determining how best to resolve this situation – minimising disadvantage, adhering to the principle of fairness – we’re not taking one approach. A single solution did not fi t all qualifi cations or meet the needs of all affected learners.

For those students taking GCSEs and AS and A Levels, a calculated approach is the fairest way for them to receive a grade this summer. School, college and provider-based assessment already has an important role in many of these qualifi cations. W

Fair result

As teachers, you know your students well, and you are highly experienced in making assessment judgements. That’s why you are being asked by the exam boards to provide Centre Assessment Grades for students and to rank students within each of those grades.

You’ll have a good idea of what grades your students would have achieved had they been able to take their exams and a wide range of evidence available to support your judgement. And the evidence is that teachers can rank their students in order with a high degree of accuracy. That’s why providing these two key pieces of information – the grade and the ranking – will enable exam boards to issue the fairest possible results.

We are clear that learners taking vocational and technical qualifi cations (VTQs) should not be disadvantaged. As far as possible, they should receive results this summer, so they can progress into employment, FE or higher education (HE).

But of course the solution for VTQs must take into account both the purpose of a qualifi cation and the assessment methods used. That’s why we have set out a principles-based framework that gives awarding organisations the fl exibility to deliver fair, valid results within their qualifi cations’ context.

This framework gives awarding organisations a set of parameters, within which they can make informed and evidence-based professional judgements on the right approach for each qualifi cation. Yes, this may mean that different approaches will be taken for similar qualifi cations, depending on the circumstances that apply. But the framework provides the consistency around how awarding organisations make their decisions, and we’ll be working with them to achieve common approaches where that’s appropriate.

So what does this mean for you and your students? For learners taking qualifi cations primarily used for progression to FE and HE, such as Applied Generals and Technical Awards, they should expect awarding organisations to take all reasonable steps to provide them with a calculated result. Your organisation may need to collect and provide information to the awarding organisation so they can calculate that result.

Last resort

Some qualifi cations directly signal occupational competence or operate as a licence to practise; many of these have observations and practical assessments at their core and a calculated result wouldn’t be valid or reliable. For these qualifi cations, you should expect awarding organisations, where possible, to be adapting their assessments to enable results to be issued.

That leads us to the qualifi cations where adapting an assessment may not be safe or viable, or where adaptation might lead to the qualifi cation not meeting employers’ needs. So you can expect that there will be some qualifi cations where there is no option but for the assessment to be delayed until learners can take them as originally intended, but this is very much a last resort.

As far as practical, we have consulted with teachers and education leaders across the sector as we developed this approach. Your co-operation, fl exibility and professional judgement will continue to be invaluable as you work to protect the interests of your learners and secure the grades they deserve.