Head of AQA: exams could be online within 3 years

It’s how you do maths.

Now. It's how you do maths now.

We dont write with a stylus and wax tablets, quill and ink, or chalk boards.

Yet past mathematicians used all these things. Then.

It took an old codger like me only a couple of years on word equation editor to get to get from "oh that was slow and was it worth it" to "ugg handwriting just looks scruffy". Imagine how easy kids would find it if it was something they had always had exposure to whilst doing simple equations first.

MS-DOS looked incredibly unfathomable when it first came out. Then came windows and a mouse. Ms-Dos may actually be quicker and the purists will still pick windows over Dos but suddenly more people found it accessible and more people were using computers. Now were on windows 11(?) The interface has improved enormously (probably).
Most people have a good idea of how to use it for what they need. As demand increases it will get easier to use.

Although honestly word equation editor really isnt bad.

I just find it really really hard to imagine GCSE maths being done on computer by the lower 50% of pupils.

I think that's a really fair point. Most people struggle to imagine anyone word processing maths, let alone children with SN because we dont do it.

I remember years back I was the first person to type my English essays pretty much in my whole school at about year 8. They looked poor layout wise compared to how slick word is now and the technology was clunky at best. My teacher wasnt convinced it would (or should) catch on not least because I wouldn't be able to type everything for the rest of my working life and it didnt show my ability to do English properly. I persevered because I knew my hand couldn't keep up with my brain. My hand ached and my handwriting becomes increasingly unintelligible as the essay goes on (heaven only knows how I got through my exams!) Now I know I have Hypermobility. My daughter is actually allowed to type exams because of her Hypermobility and that's considered relatively normal. In real life people type way more often than they pick up a pen.

My one with extensive SN types in word with predictive text and it helps him to achieve way more independently than he ever could otherwise. Noone can read his handwriting, and he definitely cant spell and often he cant write in sentences. His written English is unintelligible. He can however work independently in word to tell you about ambition in Macbeth, how the descriptions of the buildings contribute to the atmosphere of Jekyll and Hyde and about sabbatarianism in Victorian times in relation to Christmas Carol. Without a doubt he has gained the most and yet my year 8 teacher couldn't even imagine word processing catching on for the majority.

Computer written equations have the benefit of being way easier to check (for both teacher and pupil) and easier to correct for stupid mistakes. Theres no handwriting issues or "is that a 4 or a 7". The layout is clearer so it's often actually easier to work our what you are trying to do or where you have got stuck. That has huge benefits to the "bottom 50%"

As more people realise the benefits the interface will improve and whole process will become normalised.

Who knows. One day we might even realise times tables and mental arithmetic arent the be all and end all given the ubiquity of calculators. This would certainly speed up the transition and may also benefit the huge numbers of kids who can operate a calculator and actually can do maths but cant remember 7 ×8

Maybe computer based exams means someday in the future my DS with SN might not be written off for the fact he can barely hand write for 5mins let alone 1.5 hours and instead he might be ability to show how well he can do trigonometry for example.

He might even be able to take his GCSEs from home in a pandemic.

It might be hard to imagine, both typing maths and computer based exams, but those that we have the most difficulty imagining doing it may be the ones who have the most to gain by trying.

The world is evolving at a rate of knots the like of which we have never seen before.

If it is approached with an open mind, the possibilities are endless. Maybe scrap GCSE's altogether?

as demonstrated here, many teachers are wedded to paper

Because, as pointed out, that’s what they have.

It's not about being wedded to paper, it's about resources. We have 3 computer suites in my school. At any one time, 3 classes can be using computers. Out of, what, 40 ish classes? So, for it to be the students' normal way of working, to learn how to type faster than they can write for essay subjects, and to learn specialised software for maths and other subjects, we'd at least 25 more computer suites (allowing for some classes being in PE, drama, food etc).

There is literally no money for this.

I don't think a maths exam would be in Word!

DS used an online platform to practise for ISEB. It had software built that allowed cancelling fractions, regrouping for calculations etc. I use a gamified maths platform with my class that allows them to draw diagrams to help with working.

The issue is that all this would need to be a common way of working so kids found it easy and natural- not a change of mode just for exams. Currently it isn't and, as demonstrated here, many teachers are wedded to paper, so it would take a long time to implement well.

No more writing on paper in the school
Hall? Seems a shame.

I just find it really really hard to imagine GCSE maths being done on computer by the lower 50% of pupils.
I find it easier to imagine degree level maths.

Anyway, maths is always an outlier in teaching.

cancelling of fractions pretty easy in word. Is neater and easier to spot when you make a mistake.

bus stop/ long/short (whichever you call it) division if I'm doing this I tend to be doing it with more complex numbers. It's been a while but from memory it's fine. I think you might find more kids become more comfortable using fraction notation

the drawing pictures to help you understand the question, still use a pen and paper for this. If I'm handing stuff in I might hand in a mix of both or take a scan/picture of handwritten work.

...or Napiers method for long multiplication?

I'm not disputing that you can use Word for writing equations etc, but I don't think it is really designed for on the fly solving of GCSE level maths questions.

Computer based tests have lots of advantages for accessibility too as you can change background and text colours/sizes, use magnifying tools and screen readers, configuration can be built into the test to amend the format/content to accommodate different needs like extra time, alternative wording and such.

This is already available for gcse

Fine for people who go into 'office jobs', but a fair % of pupils head into practical or verbal based routes. If we are going to change how pupils are assessed why not expand out to allow for a wider range of assessment?

I'm a maths teacher. Typing maths on a computer actually interferes with the ability to do the maths because you're too busy thinking about how to type it to be able to think properly about the question.

This really is just a practice thing. I can type/do equations in word not far off the speed I can hand write them. Once you know the shortcuts is not that hard, but we dont start kids young enough because theres no need.

Maybe there will be a blend of computer assessment and also some continued teacher assessment which doesn't need to be computerised?

Computer based testing is far more reflective of the real life current world we live in. Tweaks and adjustments will be required, but the exam bodies will find a way to address the issues raised and to do things differently going forward, and it will work out.

As a PP stated, why do exams need to be sat in the actual school and not at a specific exam centre etc?

Functional Maths already has online exams. If delivering intensive courses, it can take as long to teach how to use the software effectively as to teach the Maths content. Some people with learning difficulties and other issues find the format disadvantageous. Otherwise, though online tests work reasonably well for these limited specifications, it would be impossible to adapt them to deal with more advanced mathematics. One problem that could arise is that the specification itself might become limited by what could be tested effectively. Another is that perfectly able candidates might be limited by what they can express in their responses.

I can see why they might want to, but it would be awful for my DD. She'd probably have needed an exam concession of 'use pen and paper'

Maths is easier handwritten, ditto a lot of science.
English Language you want/need to scribble on the text.
People want to do mind maps for planning answers.

otoh DD's college course (well not hers the next level up that hopefully she will get to) has computer based 'synoptic assessment'...

It's completely impossible if there's not even enough money for soap or tissues in schools!

I didn’t really mean the government, tbh. I do think as a very general point, a move to ICT based learning is probably a better prep for leaving school than pen and paper: whether it will happen in three years is questionable.

Even if the school had enough laptops/computers to do the test on (and this is extremely doubtful tbh) then there certainly wouldn't be enough electrical sockets to power them!

I have invigilated rooms of over 100 students at once. I've moved a student who found the tapping on a keyboard from a student using one distracting, so imagine the noise from that many candidates pounding a keyboard at once! And if the wifi goes down or there is an IT issue ...

I don’t know. I think things may change following lockdown and remote learning.