To think it’s time to cancel the 2021 exams

[Exams2021]

It just seems impossible with so much disruption and no end to that in sight and also the massive discrepancy between regions. Aibu to think we need to pack in the exams, use teacher asses grades and spend the rest of the year trying to fill gaps so year 11s have the full range of knowledge to allow them to move forward?

Would be great to hear from some teachers and other stakeholders?

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Thanks to those who voted

Yes, they should be cancelled.
2021 will be as bad as 2020 so we all might as well hunker down for it.

I thought exams had been cancelled a few months ago?

@lovingllamaa

I thought exams had been cancelled a few months ago?

In Scotland and Wales but not England

Not GCSEs in England @lovingllamaa

I will put money on exams in England being cancelled but this government will not announce till as late as they can to maintain its veneer of control.

There must be some students who have huge gaps in what they need to cover for their GCSEs. From what I have heard, some schools did very little online learning while others attempted to continue covering the curriculum, so there will be no level playing field.

@HarrietSchulenberg

I will put money on exams in England being cancelled but this government will not announce till as late as they can to maintain its veneer of control.

It’s poor they should tell people so they can plan

I am a teacher and I have to say I agree. However, it’s tricky for Year 11 pupils because the workload and revision for GCSEs prepares them well for A-Levels (if they choose this path). As the jump from Year 11 to Year 12 is already so big, I worry they wouldn’t handle the pressure/stress without experiencing GCSE exams .

In Wales, exams have been ‘officially’ cancelled.

However, they still intend to run “externally set, and externally marked assessments”, in a classroom environment.

Information as to the content or format of these has not been provided, so seems potentially worse than exams?!

As a teacher, I still don’t know what I’m preparing any of my students for, and they want these assessments all done before Easter.

Madness. And yes, exams should definitely be cancelled across the board.

@snowfairylover

I am a teacher and I have to say I agree. However, it’s tricky for Year 11 pupils because the workload and revision for GCSEs prepares them well for A-Levels (if they choose this path). As the jump from Year 11 to Year 12 is already so big, I worry they wouldn’t handle the pressure/stress without experiencing GCSE exams .

I agree they should be told ASAP I get the logic of waiting for a bit but there has been so much disruption it’s clear now

@YardleyX

In Wales, exams have been ‘officially’ cancelled.

However, they still intend to run “externally set, and externally marked assessments”, in a classroom environment.

Information as to the content or format of these has not been provided, so seems potentially worse than exams?!

As a teacher, I still don’t know what I’m preparing any of my students for, and they want these assessments all done before Easter.

Madness. And yes, exams should definitely be cancelled across the board.

That sounds worse than what’s going on in England

@Notcontent

There must be some students who have huge gaps in what they need to cover for their GCSEs. From what I have heard, some schools did very little online learning while others attempted to continue covering the curriculum, so there will be no level playing field.

Yes completely I think this is a big issue the inconsistency arround online learning it would almost have been better for all schools to provide nothing so they could all start from the same position in September

I feel sorry for year 13 kids. Likely not even able to take their exams, so then having to live with half-cocked guesstimate results. And then expected to choose between universities they haven’t even been able to visit. Or alternatively holding off for a year up against kids who might have had a more normal sixth form experience.

Or alternatively holding off for a year up against kids who might have had a more normal sixth form experience.

I wouldn’t bank on next years year 13s having “normal experience” as they have gaps from GCSE knowledge and also have had a lot of disruption this year

It would be interesting to hear from those who say I’m BU

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Agree OP but we need to be careful that we don’t end up with a worse deal than we had in the first place like what happened in wales

I’m normally very opinionated and I don’t know the ‘right’ answer here.

Exams are going to be a mess. But then cancelling exams will also be a mess. What Wales are planning sounds dreadful. CAGs were a nightmare and without an algorithm to moderate (even if it was then abandoned) they’re just going to be mad.

As a GCSE maths teacher, we don’t need to worry about finishing the syllabus as we rarely do for most pupils so I’d go with exams, adjusted grade boundaries and special consideration for pupils who have suffered extended isolation. But teachers of other subjects will have other opinions based on their particular requirements which will be different.

Sixth form - I want exams. Mine had a reasonable remote learning experience.

Cancelling exams will be the end of learning for a lot of Y11 and probably some sixth form. They’ll just check out completely.

I almost think it would be better for everyone to repeat the year & start reception children a year later from next year onwards.

It’s not just those in year 11 or 13, as children currently in year 10 will also struggle to catch up, so it’s not just a case of guessing their potential to come up with a grade, it is actual education they have missed.

@Elf2105

I almost think it would be better for everyone to repeat the year & start reception children a year later from next year onwards.

It’s not just those in year 11 or 13, as children currently in year 10 will also struggle to catch up, so it’s not just a case of guessing their potential to come up with a grade, it is actual education they have missed.

This was suggest a lot during lockdown and I think was worth considering more closely although the danger with that is that it would have impacts for years to come as everyone would be a year behind and it would put many universities out of business for good if they missed a years intake. Not a bad idea at all though and definitely something to look into just a shame it wasn’t thought about more thouroughly.

@noblegiraffe

I’m normally very opinionated and I don’t know the ‘right’ answer here.

Exams are going to be a mess. But then cancelling exams will also be a mess. What Wales are planning sounds dreadful. CAGs were a nightmare and without an algorithm to moderate (even if it was then abandoned) they’re just going to be mad.

As a GCSE maths teacher, we don’t need to worry about finishing the syllabus as we rarely do for most pupils so I’d go with exams, adjusted grade boundaries and special consideration for pupils who have suffered extended isolation. But teachers of other subjects will have other opinions based on their particular requirements which will be different.

Sixth form - I want exams. Mine had a reasonable remote learning experience.

Cancelling exams will be the end of learning for a lot of Y11 and probably some sixth form. They’ll just check out completely.

Thank you noble I know you have been a huge source of knowledge, although no less controversial, on the many education threads over the last nine months. I agree there is no “right” course of action.

I wouldn’t bank on next years year 13s having “normal experience” as they have gaps from GCSE knowledge and also have had a lot of disruption this year
I do hope those doing exams in 2022 will find that things are more normal and that they’ve had more time in school than the year above them. If not (ie if we have another year of this), then the world is going to be in a very grim place. But frankly, it’s awful for all of them, whichever year they’re in.