Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether students taking (a) GCSEs and (b) A-levels in the 2020-21 academic year will receive centre assessed grades; and what plans his Department has to provide a mechanism by which Ofqual can adjust those grades.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government remains clear that exams are the fairest method to assess students. Given the further disruption, however, the Department cannot guarantee that all students will be in a position to sit their exams fairly this summer. GCSE, AS and A levels will not go ahead as planned.
The Department has already confirmed our proposals that in summer 2021 pupils taking GCSE, AS and A levels regulated by Ofqual should be awarded grades based on an assessment by their teachers. Ofqual and the Department launched a consultation on the evidence needed to inform teachers’ assessments of their students’ grades, including providing externally set papers to support their assessments.
Teachers will be provided with training and guidance to support them, balancing flexibility with the need to make sure grades are valid and consistent. To further support this, the consultation also proposes that exam boards should both provide information for schools and colleges to inform their own quality assurance, and that the exam boards themselves should undertake checks of schools’ and colleges’ processes and the evidence for the grades submitted. We have proposed that changes to teachers’ grades should be the exception and will only be if the grade could not legitimately have been given based on the evidence. The Department proposes that all students will have a route to appeal their grades.
Ofqual and the Department are working at pace to provide further clarity to the sector and will publish the outcome of the consultation as soon as possible.
Asked by: Julian Sturdy (Conservative - York Outer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the feasibility of holding mini-exams for (a) GCSE and (b) A-level students in summer 2021.
Answered by Nick Gibb
In light of the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, the Government considers that exams cannot be held in a way which is fair. We have therefore announced that GCSE, AS and A level exams will not go ahead this summer as planned. To provide clarity to the sector as soon as possible, and to ensure that our approach is developed with the sector, Ofqual and the Department have launched a two-week consultation.
Ofqual and the Department will consult on the evidence needed to inform teachers’ assessments of their pupils’ grades, including providing externally set papers to support their assessments. Teachers’ assessments of the evidence of the standard at which their pupils are performing should indicate their demonstrated knowledge, understanding and skills. To support this, teachers will be provided with training and guidance.
Further details of alternative arrangements to exams will be confirmed as soon as possible, ensuring that students have the confidence that they will be fairly treated for assessments in 2021.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when he plans to announce the details on GCSE and A-level assessments for summer 2021.
Answered by Nick Gibb
In light of the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, the Government considers that exams cannot be held in a fair way. We have therefore announced that GCSE, AS and A level exams will not go ahead this summer as planned.
We have already confirmed our proposals that in summer 2021 students taking GCSE, AS and A levels regulated by Ofqual should be awarded grades based on an assessment by their teachers.
To provide clarity to the sector as soon as possible, and to ensure that our approach is developed with the sector, Ofqual and the Department launched a two week consultation on how to ensure all students are supported to move to the next stage of their lives.
Further details of alternative arrangements to exams will be confirmed as soon as possible, ensuring that students have the confidence that they will be fairly treated in terms of assessment in 2021.
Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if his Department will take into account the effect of covid-19 absences on each school teaching faculty when assessing GSCE and A-Level grades for school exam cohorts, in the context of varying regional rates of covid-19; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
In light of the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, the Government considers that exams cannot be held in a way which is fair. The Department has therefore announced that GCSE, AS and A level exams will not go ahead this summer as planned. To provide further clarity to the sector as soon as possible, Ofqual and the Department have launched a two week consultation on how to fairly ensure all young people are supported to progress to the next stage of their lives.
The Department has confirmed our proposal that, in summer 2021, pupils taking GCSE, AS and A levels regulated by Ofqual should be awarded grades based on an assessment by their teachers. To ensure that grades this year remain meaningful, we propose that they should be based on teachers’ assessments of the evidence of the standard at which their pupils are performing. Grades should indicate pupils’ demonstrated knowledge, understanding and skills.
The Department knows that there has been learning loss, and that some pupils have suffered more disruption to their learning than others. The Department wants pupils to be assessed on the content they have covered and to recognise loss of learning. We propose that there will be flexibility for teachers in what they assess students on. If externally set papers are used, we propose that teachers should also have some choice of the topics on which their students could answer questions. The same principle could apply in assessments conducted by the school or college, while ensuring sufficient breadth of content coverage so as not to limit progression.
In December 2020, the Department confirmed the launch of an expert advisory group to consider the differential impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak on pupils and recommend mitigations for these impacts. In light of the decision to cancel exams, the Department is refocusing this group and is working to finalise the terms of reference and membership. We will ensure that membership is representative of the sector and is geographically diverse. Further details on membership and priorities of the group will be provided in due course.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support his Department is making available to private GCSE and A Level candidates in response to the cancellation of examinations due to take place in summer 2021.
Answered by Nick Gibb
As a result of the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, the Department will not be asking pupils to sit GCSE, AS and A level exams this summer as planned.
The Department has been clear that it is important to find an accessible route for private candidates, and those not in school this year, to be assessed and receive a grade. We have launched a two week consultation on how to fairly award all pupils a grade that supports them to progress to the next stage of their lives. We will continue to engage with a range of relevant stakeholders when developing plans for our policy on GCSE, AS and A level assessments in 2021, as will the exams regulator Ofqual. A full equalities impact assessment, informed by the results of the consultation, will be published in due course.
Asked by: Naz Shah (Labour - Bradford West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the guidance on teacher assessments has been made available to teachers of A-Levels and GCSEs.
Answered by Nick Gibb
In light of the increase in COVID-19 rates, the Government has made the decision to limit attendance at schools and colleges to reduce the number of contacts between households. As a result, examinations will not go ahead in the summer as planned.
The Department and Ofqual have launched a two week consultation on how to fairly award all pupils a grade that supports them to progress to the next stage of their lives. The consultation can be accessed from the Ofqual website and will be open until 29 January 2021. We strongly encourage all our stakeholders, including students and their parents, to respond.
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has confirmed he wishes teachers to assess the standard at which pupils are performing and thus the grade they should receive. The consultation proposes that teachers will be supported in doing so through training, guidance, and papers to inform assessments. Guidance materials will be made available after the consultation has closed and the detail of the approach is agreed. The consultation also proposes and seeks views on approaches to assessment which will allow teachers to assess pupils’ performance on content they have had an opportunity to study, despite the disruption, whilst continuing to ensure they have sufficient breadth of knowledge to enable them to successfully progress.
The Department recognises the challenges faced by schools, teachers, and pupils, and knows that disruption has been felt differently across the country and between schools and colleges in the same area, and between pupils within individual institutions. In order to support schools to make up for lost learning, the Government has provided a £1 billion catch-up programme. This includes a £650 million catch-up premium for all schools in recognition of the fact that all pupils will have been impacted by disruption to their education. Additionally, the £350 million National Tutoring Programme is an ambitious scheme that will provide additional, targeted tuition support for disadvantaged pupils who need the most help to catch up.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department has taken to fairly assess GCSE and A-Level students who were scheduled to retake their exams in 2021 and having left their school or college are no longer able to receive a teacher assessment.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department concluded a successful Autumn exam series, allowing pupils who were unhappy with the grades they received in Summer 2020 the opportunity to sit them again. The Department understands, however, that some pupils may have decided to wait until the Summer 2021 series to take their exams.
In light of the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Department will not be asking pupils to sit GCSE, AS and A level exams this summer as planned. It is important therefore that there is a clear and accessible route for private candidates, and those not in school this year, to be assessed and receive a grade.
A rapid consultation on how to fairly award all pupils a grade that ensures they can progress to the next stage of their lives will be launching shortly. The Department will continue to engage with a range of relevant stakeholders when developing plans for our policy on GCSE, AS and A level assessments in 2021, as will the exams regulator Ofqual. A full equalities impact assessment, informed by the results of the consultation, will be published in due course.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government who will comprise the membership of the expert group that will advise the Secretary of State for Education on arrangements for GCSE and A level examinations in 2021.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
The department recognises the challenges faced by schools, teachers, and students, and understands that disruption has been felt differently across the country, between schools and colleges in the same area, and between students within individual institutions.
In addition to a package of measures announced to ensure exams are delivered fairly next summer, the department confirmed the launch of an expert advisory group to consider the differential impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak on pupils and recommend mitigations for these impacts: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-support-the-summer-2021-exams. The expert advisory group is expected to provide initial advice in the early Spring, ensuring that any further policies recommended to my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education support the measures already announced and are developed with the education sector. We are working to finalise the terms of reference and membership of the group and will ensure that membership is representative of the sector, and geographically diverse.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect to receive the report of the expert group tasked with advising the Secretary of State for Education on arrangements for GCSE and A level examinations in 2021.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
The department recognises the challenges faced by schools, teachers, and students, and understands that disruption has been felt differently across the country, between schools and colleges in the same area, and between students within individual institutions.
In addition to a package of measures announced to ensure exams are delivered fairly next summer, the department confirmed the launch of an expert advisory group to consider the differential impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak on pupils and recommend mitigations for these impacts: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-support-the-summer-2021-exams. The expert advisory group is expected to provide initial advice in the early Spring, ensuring that any further policies recommended to my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education support the measures already announced and are developed with the education sector. We are working to finalise the terms of reference and membership of the group and will ensure that membership is representative of the sector, and geographically diverse.
Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will publish his Department's contingency plans relating to Summer 2021 GCSE and A Level exams.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government’s position is clear: exams will take place in summer 2021. Schools across the country, including in areas of high prevalence of COVID-19, are doing a brilliant job staying open and providing high quality education to pupils.
We recognise that there will be challenges for students being assessed in summer 2021. We have announced a wide range of contingency measures to ensure that as many pupils as possible can take an exam paper in their chosen subjects, and all students will have the opportunity to be awarded a qualification.
Exams will be sufficiently spaced to account for periods of self-isolation. If a student misses all their assessments in a subject, they will have the opportunity to sit a contingency paper held shortly after the main exams. Students who miss part of their exams because of the COVID-19 outbreak will be able to get a grade through the special consideration process, provided they have sat one paper or non-exam assessment and met requirements.
In the extreme case where a student has a legitimate reason to miss all their papers, then a validated teacher informed assessment can be used, only once all chances to sit an exam have passed. The Government will set out further detail on this process, and on adaptations to exams, in the New Year.