Have Your Say on Exams 2021: Official Government Survey Now Open


The official consultation on how exams will be set and marked in 2021 has now been published and parents are invited to have their say on the proposals.

We've read the 45-page document and summarised the key areas and published all questions to make it easier for parents and students to jump into the survey fully prepared. 

Following an outline last week by Education Secretary Gavin Williamson of the types of questions that would be being considered by his government team and Ofqual, the exams watchdog, the consultation on how exams will be set and marked in 2021 is now open: Consultation on how GCSE, AS and A level grades should be awarded in summer 2021.

The online consultation is open to parents, students and anyone working in education and asks a series of questions on the details of the plan. 

Closing date for responses is 11:45pm on Friday 29 January 2021. 

The survey includes 74 questions and we estimate it should take around 15-20 minutes to complete. 

It also includes a downloadable summary document of proposals which it asks you to read in advance of completing the survey: How GCSE, AS and A level grades should be awarded in summer 2021.

However, each question includes a summary of the proposal included at the start, so parents should not be put off responding if they don't have time to read the full document. 

The majority of questions have a heading, summary of the proposal and then a question that requires an agree/disagree answer. Plus there are open survey boxes in which to add more details. 

Questions are set out in 16 different areas and there are 74 questions in total.

We have set down most of the questions below but not those that ask 'why' or 'add more detail' so there are not 74 in total on this page. 

At the end of the survery it says: 'This information will now be analysed and the findings will be published on the Ofqual website. It currently doesn't say WHEN results will be published but you can sign up for email alerts from the Department for Education so you know you won't miss publication date.

You can also sign up to get straiighforward news and updates from School Guide via our newsletter, and we will always keep you informed of big events that affect your child's education on our Facebook and Twitter page. 

We hope this gives you a good sense of how to prepare ahead of launching the survey, and also an opportunity to share this page with your friends and colleagues so as many people as possible can respond. 

Complete the consultation on how GCSE, AS and A level grades should be awarded in summer 2021.

 

The consultation includes questions on these main areas

• Grades

• Use of exam board papers

• Subjects with non-exam assessment and separately reported results and grades

• Other performance evidence (what other evidence should teachers take into account) 

• The assessment period

• The conditions under which students should be assessed

• Supporting teachers

• Internal quality assurance (checking/moderating results) 

• External quality assurance (checking/moderating results) 

• How students could appeal their grade

• Private candidates (non-school/college pupils) 

• Whether Ofqual should prohibit the taking of GCSE, AS and A level exams in England, the UK and elsewhere in the world

• Equality impact assessment

• Regulatory impact assessment (consideration of the activities resulting from the proposals that the government and Ofqual expect may give rise to additional costs and burdens)

• Your details (all data protected) 

• Student disability

 

The consultation includes these questions

To what extent do you agree or disagree that the grades awarded to students in 2021 should reflect the standard at which they are performing?

To what extent do you agree or disagree that the alternative approach to awarding grades in summer 2021 should seek to encourage students to continue to engage with their education for the remainder of the academic year?

When would you prefer that teachers make their final assessment of their students’ performance? (please select one)

To what extent do you agree or disagree that teachers should be able to use evidence of the standard of a student's performance from throughout their course?

Should there be any limit on the period from which previous work could be drawn?

To what extent do you agree or disagree that the exam boards should provide a set of papers to support teachers in assessing their students’ work?

Do you think the use of the papers provided by the exam boards should be compulsory or optional, for GCSEs, AS and A levels?

To what extent do you agree or disagree that any papers provided by the exam boards should include questions that are of a type that is familiar to students?

To what extent do you agree or disagree that if teachers use exam board papers they should have choice about the topics covered in the questions their students answer, for example through choice of which papers they use with their students from the set of papers provided?

To what extent do you agree or disagree that teachers should be required to assess (either by use of the exam board papers or via other evidence) a certain minimum proportion of the overall subject content, for each subject?

To what extent do you agree or disagree that teachers should mark any papers their students are asked to complete?

To what extent do you agree or disagree that teachers should take account of a student’s performance in any non-exam assessment where that has been completed in full for a subject?

To what extent do you agree or disagree that teachers should take account of a student’s performance in any non-exam assessment where that has been completed in part for a subject?

To what extent do you agree or disagree that teachers should mark their students’ non-exam assessments?

To what extent do you agree or disagree that the marking of non-exam assessments should not be moderated by the exam boards this year?

To what extent do you agree or disagree that a breadth of evidence should inform teachers’ judgements?

To what extent do you agree or disagree that the provision of training and guidance from exam boards should support teachers to reach their assessment of a student’s deserved grade?

To what extent do you agree or disagree that performance evidence from closer to the time of the final assessment, should carry more weight in determining a student’s final grade?

To what extent do you agree or disagree that all students should be assessed within a given time period for each subject – whether or not their school or college must or is using exam board papers?

To what extent do you agree or disagree that exam boards should publish all of their papers shortly before the assessments in order to manage the risk of some students being advantaged through papers being leaked?

To what extent do you agree or disagree that the assessments should, if possible, be taken within the student’s school or college?

To what extent do you agree or disagree that if the pandemic makes it necessary a student should be able to take their assessments at an alternative venue, including at home?

To what extent do you agree or disagree that the exam boards should provide support and information to schools and colleges to help them meet the assessment requirements?

To what extent do you agree or disagree that the exam boards should set requirements for school and college internal quality assurance arrangements and provide guidance on these requirements to support centres?

To what extent do you agree or disagree that the head of a school or college should make a declaration to the exam board confirming its requirements had been followed and teachers had regard to the guidance and support materials provided?

To what extent do you agree or disagree that the exam boards should quality assure how schools and colleges are determining grades?

To what extent do you agree or disagree that the exam boards should quality assure the overall approach for all schools and colleges?

To what extent do you agree or disagree that the exam boards should sample, at subject level, the evidence on which the submitted grades were based?

To what extent do you agree or disagree that the exam boards should target their more in-depth quality assurance activities?

To what extent do you agree or disagree that exam boards could only change a student's grade after a review of the evidence and discussion with the school or college?

To what extent do you agree or disagree that exam boards could only change a student's grade after a review of the evidence and discussion with the school or college?

To what extent do you agree or disagree that students should not be told the grade their teacher has submitted before results day?

To what extent do you agree or disagree that students should be able to appeal their grade on the grounds that their teacher made an error when assessing the student’s performance?

To what extent do you agree or disagree that the school or college should consider the appeal?

To what extent do you agree or disagree that the appeal should normally be considered by a competent person within the student’s school or college who was not involved with the original assessment?

To what extent do you agree or disagree that a school or college should be able to appoint a competent person from outside of the school or college to consider the appeal?

To what extent do you agree or disagree that a grade should only be changed if it is found not to represent a legitimate exercise of academic judgement?

To what extent do you agree or disagree that a student should be able to appeal to the exam board on the grounds that the school or college did not follow the exam board’s requirements when it assessed the student’s performance?

To what extent do you agree or disagree that a student should be able to appeal to the exam board on the grounds that the school or college did not properly consider the student’s appeal?

To what extent do you agree or disagree that we should seek to bring forward results day(s), in order for appeals to begin earlier?

To what extent do you agree or disagree that if results day are brought forward, we should seek to decouple when a student is informed of their results, and universities are informed of their formal result for the purpose of admissions decisions?

To what extent do you agree or disagree that the exam boards should provide information for schools and colleges on how they should handle appeals?

To what extent do you agree or disagree that private candidates should be able to complete the papers set by exam boards, with them marked by the exam boards?

To what extent do you agree or disagree that private candidates should be able to work with a school or college to produce the same type of evidence as the school or college's other students?

To what extent do you agree or disagree that exam boards should run normal exams for private candidates in summer 2021?

To what extent do you agree or disagree that exam boards should run normal exams for private candidates in autumn 2021?

Should the exam boards be prohibited from offering GCSE, AS and A level exams in any country in 2021?

Do you believe the proposed arrangements (any or all) would have a positive impact on particular students because of their protected characteristics?

Are there additional burdens associated with the delivery of the proposed arrangements on which we are consulting that we have not identified above? If yes, what are they?
 

The consultation includes this proposed timeline

We outlined the majority of the new proposals in this blog on Wednesday 13 January when Gavin Williamson presented the initial proposals. More details have now emerged which include the following timeline and the proposal that student receive their results in July. 

• Students will be assessed by their teachers from May-June in non-exam assessments which will contribute to evidence for teacher assessed grades  
• Exam boards to provide papers which teachers can use to assess students using a combination of questions from past papers and new questions 
• Teachers will submit grades by mid-June 
• External quality assurance will be carried out by exam boards
• Results to be issued to students in July
• Results for A levels to be 'decoupled' from the university admissions process to give time for appeals

 

Take part in the consultation on how GCSE, AS and A level grades should be awarded in summer 2021