Calling teachers, head teachers, education people - do you think GCSEs and A-level exams will have to be adapted for 2021 because some students have effectively missed a term?

[wonderwhatnext]

Hi, I’ve heard this idea mooted by someone you could say is “in the know”, so wondering what others think?

To address the obvious inequalities caused by the fact that, this term, some students are receiving a full curriculum online whereas others are receiving next to nothing, next summer”s exams may need to reflect this by offering one less module (or topic) on the papers?

I realise this may be difficult as schools don’t teach the syllabus in the same order, but it could be something similar to when my DC sat history IGCSE, for instance. As IGCSE is international, not all students would have taken say, WW2 in Europe as a topic. So out of 20 options, they chose the ones they had studied. Papers could be set out like this and students would answer questions on the topics they had covered?

What do people think may happen and when do we think schools will go back?

That would work for essay based subjects, but what about non essay based subjects?

it would only work if the adaptions were only applied to the schools that had no teaching in lockdown. if the flexibility was applied to pupils from (probably private) schools that had a full timetable of online lessons during lockdown, this pupils would still score better.

Something will need to be done. I suspect it will be a lowering of grade boundaries. I think removal of one module per qualification would be fairer (but more difficult)

This has been worrying me. Ds is in his first year of A levels ( drama + theatre, media studies and photography) and obviously there is a lot of practical work for drama and photography which can’t be done remotely.

He is already worrying as he has anxiety and also aspergers and it took him a long time to settle in sixth form college as he really missed his school which only went from year 7-11.

Lots has been spoken about the current year 11’s and 13’s and rightly so- but what about the year 10’s and 12’s who have missed so much work already?

I hope this is addressed soon.

The problem with removing a module is that not all schools will have taught the modules in the same order so some schools would lose a module they had taught pre-lockdown and would have to teach something else actually making the problem worse.
Something needs to be done, I'm just not sure what it is.

OP I agree something could be done for subjects like history or English, the exam boards could provide far more questions and more choice. But not sure how it works for sciences or MFL.

I think Y12s (and Y10s) could go back before everyone else. But probably won't.

This totally depends on when and how school goes back.

If you look at the ofqual website they have both cancelled the exams and the trials of new exams which will have an impact on ability to set exams for next year.

I think for many subjects you could say 'best 3 out of 4' to count in some way.
It wouldn't work for maths though.

I think what they do will depend very much on when y10 go back. If they go back in June I suspect they won't do anything.

Something will need to be done but it will look different in every subject. Additional questions is one way of doing it. I suspect the need to study so many modules or topics will be removed and exams altered slightly to reflect that. It will mean a rework, publication of some specimen papers etc so we all know where we stand. They need to get a move on with it because it is causing concern.

Many papers already have more questions or topics on them than the students have to do.. Its easier for the exam board to produce one paper and tell kids to do 4/6 units or whatever. It my subject it would be quite simple to say they only do 3/6 units for instance and students are told, as they are now, to only attempt the 3 units we've covered.
At a level, in history, there are dozens of options for different papers.. Schools enter the kids for the ones they are doing and those are the papers that are sent. It would be quite easy to say, it's only 2 papers rather than 3 and they are entered for the ones they've done. The only problem is that not all papers have the same weighting so there'd be some issues with that but there's time to work this out.

I was wondering if a lot of it (essay subjects) would just go to coursework instead. DD’s A-Levels are 25% coursework anyway. If this carries on I don’t see how you could have hundreds of kids sitting in an exam hall anyway?

The problem with removing a module is that not all schools will have taught the modules in the same order so some schools would lose a module they had taught pre-lockdown and would have to teach something else actually making the problem worse.

I meant for the schools/pupils to choose which module they didn’t do. So, for Edexcel English literature for example, there are four clear sections of the exam papers, each worth 40 marks. Schools/ pupils could choose which 40 Mark section they didn’t complete. Arguably, those pupils who have been taught the whole course (eg through online teaching) benefit as they can pick and choose questions, but it would be much fairer than a grade boundary reduction.

I totally understand that this model doesn’t work for all subjects. English language, for example, I think would work better with boundary reduction as it’s skills based. We’re not missing learning so much; we’re missing practicing.

I doubt any announcement will be made until schools go back (the length of closures impacts on the measures that need to be taken) and then the arrangements will need to be different for all subjects.

I have dc in year 10 and 12, both state school. Neither have really had any teaching since early March. My neighbour has 2 dc in the same years private school - they have a full timetable each day, logging on to register by 8.25 and then live lessons through the day. You've got to hand it to private schools they've really been on the ball and I suppose you do get what you pay for.

My kids get 1-2 emails from each subject teacher on a Monday only. No work to be handed in, no registration and no follow up emails and no marking. There are a lot of their friends who do not have access to laptops/ computers at home and have given up trying to work from their phones. After Mondays emails there is nothing further at all.

Whatever happens and however they decide on what happens with exams next year some kids will come out of this with a massive advantage. There is such a massive disparity between how schools have adapted to the pandemic and the continuity of education. I think it's going to be a very very difficult year for kids, schools and exam boards.

Grade boundaries are adjusted every year anyway so that there is an even spread of grading each year. Some papers are just a bit harder/ easier than others and some cohorts hit disruption from curriculum change and strike action at some point which can affect performance down the line.

(Curiously when I did several years of long term supply in different schools, there were "difficult"/ "easier" year groups tracking through. So school A in year#1 had a trickier than usual cohort of y7s, then school B in year#2 had a trickier cohort of y8s and so on.)

From experience of schools struggling with capacity such as a block burning down or delayed buidling works, it is common practice to prioritise the exam year groups back into school and to compromise on rotating the other groups around. I think this could be a likely approach in this case.

There may well be a knock on further down the line for younger groups missing out on some of that foundation, and the disruption of returning to normal schooling however long that takes. Plus the personal level of additional bereavement and disruption to SN provision including diagnosis. A lot of children won't ping back to normal.

I thought the new system of grades 1-9 was a ranking thing, so that if everyone did well or everyone did crap you would still have the same percentage of students with each grade.

Balloon The problem with just grading on a curve for the y10s will be the total disparity of opportunity occurring right now.

Some kids (eg many of those at private schools) are getting full interactive teaching. At the other end of the scale are those who have no/limited technology at home so can't access anything the school do provide. It is widening the already existing gap between advantaged and disadvantaged.

Removing modules is impossible for Maths. It's an all or nothing subject.

The disadvantage gap is there regardless. We can try and mitigate for it but it will still be there. I don't think there is any fair way to assign grades from an exam that allows for the gap. Unless next year becomes teacher assessed grade too.

Removing modules for science wouldn't work. We don't teach in numerical order, because all the biology would be bunched up together, then all the chem, etc. Not all schools teach in the same order, and questions often cover work from more than one module.

The only way to do it for science is lower the grade boundaries.

The disadvantaged gap will always be there, but never like it is now. The gap has been widened beyond belief due to the pandemic and I can't see any way of reversing the damage to bring the gap levels down to (an already awful) where there were pre pandemic. I mentor kids from poor backgrounds and it's sad to see that their schools/ Teachers have given up on them completely and the damage to their education and attainment levels is irreversible.

I mentor kids from poor backgrounds and it's sad to see that their schools/ Teachers have given up on them completely and the damage to their education and attainment levels is irreversible

Harsh to say teachers have given up on them. Ime teachers haven't given up. They just appreciate there is only so much we can do over the phone or online.

I completely agree with you that the gap widens daily and it will be irreversible for some. I just don't see a fair way to change a disadvantaged students grade.

I wonder if it will be changed so that part of the final grade will be teacher assessment and part will be the exam next summer.

I accept that leaving out modules will be very tricky on maths. I’m not sure what the way around this is. Also languages. Maybe teacher assessment for these?

However, for humanities subjects and English Lit it may well be possible. I remember at English Lit GCSE, they had to do In-depth study of a Shakespeare play (there was a choice If plays and schools chose different ones); a novel (a choice of Dickens, I think) and then there was an “unseen” poetry section. They could organise it so that if It was the Shakespeare play they have missed due to disruption this term, then they don’t do that section. If it was the novel, they miss this section. They all do the unseen poetry section. Something along these lines? This could definitely also work for History, Geography, RE. Students who do IGCSE would routinely chose the subjects that apply to them from a list anyway - as I say, Chinese history IGCSE students would be choosing different modules to those taught in the UK.

I think it will be the same as this year predicted etc

I agree re private schools. My friends daughter has proper Skype type lessons with a teacher leading. But it easier when there is 10 kids in a class and parents are paying. No teacher is going to stand in front of my son’s class of 34 boys and try to teach them remotely. Also some of the kids are having to help with siblings or care for parents or help with the family business so are not logging on at lesson times.