Three in five schools plan to rely on tests when deciding GCSE and A-level grades

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Three in five schools plan to rely on tests when deciding GCSE and A-level grades – even though official exams are cancelled

  • A survey by the school leaders’ union ASCL found seven per cent of schools will base assessments entirely on exam-style papers
  • Fifty three per cent said they would give greater weight to exam-style papers than other forms of assessment
  • Exam boards are providing mini-assessments which schools can use, or teachers can also set their own
  • This year, teachers will be able to draw on a range of evidence – including mock exams, coursework, and in-class assessments to decide grades

By Eleanor Harding Education Correspondent For The Daily Mail

Published: | Updated:

Pupils will have to revise after all this year, as most schools say they will set tests to decide grades.

Three in five schools plan to rely heavily on tests when deciding pupils’ GCSE and A-level grades this summer even though the official exams have been cancelled.

The news will come to a blow to pupils who had hoped for an easy ride, as they still have to study extensively. And it has also provoked concern about inconsistency, as schools will be assessing pupils differently.

A survey, carried out by the school leaders’ union ASCL, found seven per cent of schools will base assessments entirely on exam-style papers. A further 53 per cent said they would give greater weight to exam-style papers than to other forms of assessment.

Pupils will have to revise after all this year, as most schools say they will set tests to decide grades. Three in five schools plan to rely heavily on tests when deciding pupils’ GCSE and A-level grades this summer even though the official exams have been cancelled [Stock image]

Exam boards are providing mini-assessments which schools can use, or teachers can also set their own.

Only six per cent of headteachers said students’ grades will be based solely on ‘non-exam evidence’. 

The findings came after the Department for Education (DfE) confirmed that teachers in England will decide GCSE and A-level grades after this summer’s exams were cancelled for the second year in a row due to the pandemic.

This year, teachers will be able to draw on a range of evidence – including mock exams, coursework, and in-class assessments using questions provided by exam boards.

Heads who have decided to base grades on exam-style papers alone said they felt it would ensure that all pupils are assessed on the same evidence.

They added that the disruption caused by lockdowns made it difficult to identify other consistent quality evidence.

A survey, carried out by the school leaders' union ASCL, found seven per cent of schools will base assessments entirely on exam-style papers. A further 53 per cent said they would give greater weight to exam-style papers than to other forms of assessment [Stock image]

A survey, carried out by the school leaders’ union ASCL, found seven per cent of schools will base assessments entirely on exam-style papers. A further 53 per cent said they would give greater weight to exam-style papers than to other forms of assessment [Stock image]

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the ASCL, said: ‘We should not be surprised about the variability in approaches given that there are very few parameters about how this should be done and a wide range of differing experiences over the past year.’

An Ofqual spokesman said: ‘The arrangements give teachers flexibility on how and when to assess students.’

Yesterday, Ofqual said that even in 2022 exams are unlikely to be back to their normal form.