Your thoughts on the UK Exams results fiasco

[MenInG]

Students have pledged to hold the government to account over the A-level results row as the exams regulator for England dramatically suspended its policy on exam appeals.

Around 280,000 students saw their grades fall by one grade or more following the introduction of a new algorithm, which was put in place after the coronavirus lockdown led to exams being cancelled.

But students have been left furious by the new system, with many losing their places on their chosen courses after not meeting the required grades.

To add to the confusion, the exams regulator Ofqual released a statement late on Saturday saying its criteria for students hoping to challenge their A-level grades on the basis of their mock exam results was "being reviewed" by its board.

It came just hours after Ofqual published guidance about its appeals process announced by Education Secretary Gavin Williamson.

Ofqual said in a statement: "Earlier today we published information about mock exam results in appeals. This policy is being reviewed by the Ofqual Board and further information will be published in due course."

Labour has accused the education secretary of backtracking on assurances given to students about the appeals process.

Mr Williamson gave a "triple lock" commitment that students could use the highest result out of their teacher's predicted grade, their mock exam or sitting the actual exam in the autumn.

However, in its original guidance Ofqual said that if the mock result was higher than the teacher's prediction, it was the teacher's prediction which would count.

The regulator said while mock exams did not usually cover the full range of content, the assessments took into account a student's performance across the whole course.

Labour's shadow education secretary Kate Green said: "Gavin Williamson promised to give students a triple lock, but instead he left many devastated by unfair exam results, and now his commitment to give them another chance is rapidly unravelling."

Many youngsters gathered in London's Hyde Park on Saturday for another day of protests.

Safaa Badar, who saw two of her A-level grades fall under the new system, warned the government that students won't vote for the Conservatives at the next election due to the impact the controversy has had on their futures.

She told Sky News: "I hope they consider the fact that we are the next voters, we've now turned 18, absolutely the government will be scrutinised, they will be held accountable for their actions.

"In no way we will be tolerating this... The entire situation is chaos."

Her friend Noor Abdain added: "The system the government used for this has completely disregarded our abilities and everything we've been working towards for the last two years.

"This is not what we deserve and the government needs to come up with a better system. They've not considered at all what this is going to do to many young people going into society, we're the next generation."

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has defended the A-level results announced in England as 'robust and reliable'

PM defends A-level results as 'robust'
The government has confirmed schools in England will be able to appeal against A-level and GCSE grades for free.

State-funded schools and colleges will also be able to claim back the cost of unsuccessful appeals as well as fees for autumn exams, the Department for Education said.

Students in Wales will also be able to appeal against their A-level grades if they are lower than teachers' predictions.

The Welsh government announced the plan following outcry over 42% of all A-level grades in the country being lowered during the moderation process.

https://news.sky.com/story/student-...am-regulator-suspends-appeals-policy-12050047

 

[The Viper]

A-level results: 'Huge mess' as exams appeal guidance withdrawn

The exams regulator is reviewing its guidance on how to appeal against A-level and GCSE grades using mock exam results - hours after publishing it.

On Saturday Ofqual set out what constituted a "valid" mock exam for students appealing against A-level results in England.

But the regulator has now suspended those criteria, and further information will be published "in due course".

One Tory MP described it as a "huge mess" that was "unacceptable".

Neither A-level nor GCSE students were able to sit public exams this year because of the coronavirus pandemic, and almost 40% of A-level grades were marked down from teachers' predictions by an Ofqual algorithm.

The Conservative chairman of the education select committee, Robert Halfon, said the decision to review appeals guidance only announced on Saturday left students and schools in confusion.

"That is a huge mess. Goodness knows what is going on at Ofqual. It is the last thing we need at this time. This is just unacceptable in my view," he said.

"Students and teachers are incredibly anxious - particularly the students who are worried about their future. This has got to be sorted out.

"Ofqual shouldn't put things on websites, take them away, sow confusion. This is just not on and it has got to be changed."

Meanwhile, the statistical model used by Ofqual to determine grades faces two legal challenges, which argue students were unfairly judged on the school they attend.

Ofqual said earlier on Saturday that, where a written mock exam was not taken, it would consider other teacher assessments instead.

However, a statement published late on Saturday night on the regulator's website read: "Earlier today we published information about mock exam results in appeals.

"This policy is being reviewed by the Ofqual Board and further information will be published in due course."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-53795831

 

[MenInG]

Legal challenges over England exam results

The statistical model used by the exam regulator in England to determine grades this year is facing two legal challenges.

Students were unable to sit public exams this year because of the pandemic, and almost 40% of A-level grades were marked down from teachers' predictions after an algorithm was used by Ofqual.

Lawyers from Leigh Day and Foxglove believe Ofqual acted outside its statutory responsibilities in basing judgements on schools' prior performance not "individual achievement and attainment".

Six students are also being supported in a case by campaigning legal group the Good Law Project.

Meanwhile, the Conservative chairman of the Education Select Committee, Robert Halfon, said an Ofqual decision to review appeals guidance left students and schools in confusion, describing the situation as a "huge mess".

Emma Hardy, Labour's shadow further education and universities minister, told the BBC the government must "urgently agree" to take grades assessed by teachers as final results.

 

[Major]

The flaw in the a and o level system

You do nothing the whole year just study for an exam. And with no exams happening, you cant be graded properly. This is why i dislike the o a level system. The course is good but the procedure for its grading isnt.

 

[Major]

The problem with mocks is that no one gives them with a serious attitude. No ine studies for them.

 

[Firebat]

British government faces mounting pressure over exam row

LONDON (Reuters) - The British government faced the threat of legal action and criticism from its own lawmakers on Sunday after it sparked anger by mishandling English exam grades during the pandemic.

After a nationwide lockdown forced exams to be cancelled, the government used an algorithm to assess grade predictions made by teachers, and lowered those grades for almost 40% of students taking their main school-leaving exams.

That process led many students to lose places at top universities.

To compound the issue, results show that grades were less likely to be lowered for students who attended fee-paying private schools, while bright students at traditionally poorly performing schools could have results downgraded.

On Saturday night the exams regulator published guidance on an appeals process, only to withdraw it hours later because it needed further review.

Barrister Jo Maugham said his Good Law Project had appointed solicitors to pursue litigation on behalf of students, and urged the government to launch a suitable appeals system in time for students to go to college in September.

Robert Halfon, chairman of the cross-party education select committee in parliament and a lawmaker in Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s ruling Conservative Party, described the removal of the appeals guidance as farcical.

“It sows confusion among pupils, head teachers and school teachers and it’s the last thing we need at this time,” he told the BBC.

Conservative lawmaker Robert Syms said the government risked Conservative lawmakers “going on warpath”.

Johnson’s government has been criticised for its handling of the pandemic, with the country recording the highest death toll in Europe and the most severe economic contraction of any major economy so far.

Having won an electoral landslide in December with a pledge to “level up” struggling parts of the country, Johnson’s Conservatives have retained a solid lead over the opposition Labour Party in opinion polls despite the problems.

That could change however over issues, including hastily-introduced quarantines that have forced the cancellation of holidays and the looming end of a successful job support scheme, as well as the chaos surrounding exam results.

Labour leader Keir Starmer said the prime minister needed to take charge and fix the problem before results were released on Thursday for exams taken by 16-year-olds.

The government has said pupils will not have to pay to appeal grades and most students will have received the correct results. Exams regulator Ofqual said some of the predicted grades given by teachers were “implausibly high”.

While France published the methodology for how it would award grades months in advance of results day, Britain announced changes to its process the day before results were released.

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-h...mounting-pressure-over-exam-row-idUKKCN25C0CC

 

[MenInG]

Senior Conservative MPs are calling on Boris Johnson to consider delaying the publication of this week's GCSE results until the problems with A-levels have been resolved.

The prime minister is under pressure to intervene to end the deepening A-levels crisis in England, amid growing anger among pupils, teachers and MPs, including from his own party.

The same controversial algorithm that was used to determine last Thursday's A-level results is being used to dish out GCSE grades this week, sparking fears that millions of pupils could see their marks downgraded, after the coronavirus outbreak cancelled exams.

The exams themselves were cancelled because of the coronavirus epidemic

It has now been suggested by a senior Conservative MP that the government may need to delay publishing GCSE results until it can be sure the grading system is fair.

Robert Halfon, chair of the House of Commons Education Committee, told Sky News that the government needed to consider the possibility "pretty quickly".

He said exams regulator Ofqual "needs to convince schools" over the next few days that its algorithm "is fair" and that the government must consider whether the exams system is "fair and robust", otherwise confidence in GCSEs "will be undermined".

"We need... a fairer, wider appeals system, that anyone who feels that their grade is unfair is able to appeal... with a very fast turnaround," he added.

Mr Halfon also said that "the last six months have been a national disaster for millions of children", and that attainment gaps will grow as a result of the pandemic.

It came after former Conservative education secretary Lord Baker, who introduced the GCSE system in the late 1980s, said that GCSE results should be delayed for two weeks, due to the algorithm.

"The A-level results have produced hundreds of thousands of unfair and barely explicable downgrades," he said in a statement.

"They have helped smaller private schools but hit the brighter students in a poorly performing state school. It is not surprising that various parties are considering legal actions.

"If you are in a hole, stop digging."

Students angry about A Level results being downgraded hold demonstrations in Cardiff and London

'Meaningless grades mean stolen futures'

However, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson and Ofqual are reportedly at odds with each other over the best way to proceed.

The Telegraph says that senior figures in Ofqual want the government to U-turn on the results, and allow students to be awarded their predicted grades.

Mr Williamson has repeatedly pushed back on using predicted grades, over fears that it could lead to grade-inflation and devalue the results.

Around 280,000 students in England saw their A-level grades fall by one grade or more from their predicted results following the introduction of a new "moderation" algorithm, which was put in place after the coronavirus lockdown led to exams being cancelled.

Further confusion was added to the row on Saturday night when Ofqual withdrew its criteria for mock exam results to be considered as the basis of an appeal, saying it was reviewing the policy.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has defended the A-level results announced in England as 'robust and reliable'

PM defends A-level results as 'robust'

The Department for Education (DfE) has since attempted to reassure students over how the appeals process will work as many of them lost university places due to their grades being lowered.

In a statement late on Sunday, a DfE spokesman said: "Hundreds of thousands of students have received a calculated grade that will enable them to progress to the next stage of their education or into work."

Labour claimed the A-level results row was a "fiasco turning from tragedy to farce" as they called on the prime minister to "get a grip".

The party's leader Sir Keir Starmer tweeted on Sunday: "Weeks of chaos, confusion and incompetence. We need a return to teacher assessments for A-level results and urgent action to avoid the same injustice for GCSE students.

"Boris Johnson has been invisible during this crisis. He needs to take personal responsibility, and fix it."

Maia was marked down by five grades from what she was predicted

'It's like being handed four random letters'

Meanwhile, campaigners have promised to begin High Court proceedings against Mr Williamson and Ofqual this week unless they perform a climbdown on the use of the algorithim.

Jolyon Maugham QC, who heads the Good Law Project, told Sky News on Sunday: "This morning we sent a letter to Ofqual, copying in Gavin Williamson."

He said the letter points out the lack of a "meaningful appeal system for inidividual students is unlawful", the system "is so unfair as also to be unlawful" and that Ofqual has a "statutory obligation to ensure that accurate grades are delivered".

https://news.sky.com/story/pm-urged...d-mounting-anger-over-a-level-fiasco-12050809

 

[Firebat]

A fresh announcement on A-level results in England is coming "imminently", according to reports.

About 40% of results were downgraded after the regulator Ofqual used an algorithm based on schools' previous results when the exams were cancelled due to the pandemic.

And pressure has been mounting on ministers to let teacher-assessed grades stand in England to avoid a second wave of exams chaos hitting GCSE results this week.

BBC education correspondent Sean Coughlan stressed that nothing was confirmed, but said in a tweet there could be a switch to use teachers' grades - centre assessment grades.

The government has so far stood by its system.

 

[Firebat]

Northern Ireland A-levels 'to be based on teachers' predictions'

We've already reported that GCSE results in Northern Ireland on Thursday will be based solely on grades predicted by teachers.

Now sources have told the PA news agency that A-level results are also set to be based on teachers' predictions.

Stormont ministers faced a backlash from head teachers, parents and pupils after last week's results were based around an approach calculating grades on a regional basis.

Education minister Peter Weir has been under pressure to act amid claims significant numbers of students were downgraded from their teachers' expectations.

 

[MenInG]

England's A-levels and GCSEs to be based on teacher assessments

A-levels and GCSEs in England will be awarded based on the "centre assessment grades" from teachers, the government has announced.

The U-turn from the exams regulator comes after days of criticism by students, teachers, and cross-party MPs over the controversial system for awarding results.

About 40% of A-level results were downgraded after the exams regulator Ofqual used an algorithm based on schools' previous results.

The move follows a similar announcement by the Welsh government earlier this afternoon.

 

[MenInG]

Labour leader: England exam results process a 'complete fiasco'

The UK government's handling of A-level and GCSE exam results in England during the coronavirus pandemic has been "a complete fiasco", the leader of the opposition has said.

"The government has had months to sort out exams and has now been forced into a screeching U-turn after days of confusion," Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer tweeted.

"This is a victory for the thousands of young people who have powerfully made their voices heard this past week.

"However, the Tories' handling of this situation has been a complete fiasco.

"Incompetence has become this government's watchword, whether that is on schools, testing or care homes.

"Boris Johnson's failure to lead is holding Britain back."

 

[MenInG]

University admission 'disarray' predicted

The focus for many A-level pupils will now turn to further education - and the group representing universities says the events have added "further uncertainty and distress to students who have already faced many difficulties as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic".

Thousands of students were rejected from their chosen courses following their downgraded results.

Alistair Jarvis, chief executive of Universities UK said universities are being as flexible as possible with applicants and will continue to support students to find a suitable university place.

"Today's policy change will mean that more students will have the grades that match the offer of their first choice university. This will cause challenges at this late stage in the admissions process - capacity, staffing, placements and facilities - particularly with the social distance measures in place."

One education expert is predicting further confusion ahead.

Laura Rettie, from consultancy Studee, says: "Although these changes are great for students who have had the injustice of being downgraded, universities are going to be thrown into disarray.

"I just hope that universities will have the capacity to deal with this change and can accommodate students who should have been given places."

It comes as three more University of Oxford colleges had said they will honour all the places offered to UK students, irrespective of their A-level results.

 

[Firebat]

A-levels: Gavin Williamson 'incredibly sorry' for exam distress

Gavin Williamson says he is "incredibly sorry for the distress" caused to pupils after having to make a U-turn in how A-levels and GCSEs are graded.

The education secretary refused to say if he will resign amid a fresh scramble to secure university places.

"My focus is making sure youngsters get the grades that they deserve," he said.

Institutions are dealing with a surge of demand for places from students rejected due to their original results last week.

The University of Oxford said it now had "many more offer-holders meeting their grades than in a normal year" and as a result faced "significant capacity constraints both within our colleges and on our academic courses".

Alistair Jarvis, chief executive of Universities UK which represents vice-chancellors, said that many more students now had the grades to get into their first-choice university.

He said this will "cause challenges at this late stage in the admissions process - capacity, staffing, placements and facilities - particularly with the social distance measures in place".

Ministers in England, Northern Ireland and Wales all decided on Monday - four days after A-level results were issued - to revert to teacher assessed grades rather than an algorithm designed to moderate them.

It followed an outcry after 40% of A-level results were downgraded by exams regulator Ofqual, which used a formula based on schools' prior grades.

"I would like to start off by apologising - saying sorry to all those young people who've been affected by this. This is something none of us expected to see and none of us wanted to see," Mr Williamson told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

Mr Williamson said it had been the common view of the government, Ofqual, and the devolved administrations in Wales and Northern Ireland of different political parties that the system in place was more robust and "significantly better" than that in Scotland, after an earlier U-turn there.

But after the release of A-level results on Thursday he said it "became increasingly apparent that there were too many young people that quite simply hadn't got the grade they truly deserved".

The "exact same challenge" would have remained had there been a U-turn earlier, he said, and "we would still be faced with the challenge of the fact of how do we expand the capacity within the university sector".

He refused to address questions about his future as education secretary during interviews on Tuesday morning and he declined to offer explicit support for Ofqual's chief regulator, Sally Collier, to stay in her job.

Mr Williamson later told LBC: "We ended up in a situation where Ofqual didn't deliver the system that we had been reassured and believed that would be in place."

Read more: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-53815089

 

[MenInG]

The government has given its backing to England's exams regulator, Ofqual, after the education secretary was accused of trying to shift the blame onto it over the A-level exam grading controversy.

Gavin Williamson remains under considerable pressure as criticism continues from Labour and the Lib Dems - while the normally-supportive Daily Mail paper has described him as "the man who won't take the blame".

The Tory chairman of the education committee, Robert Halfon, called for Ofqual to be abolished so that ministers can have "proper control and accountability".

But this afternoon, the Department for Education said it had "full confidence in Ofqual and its leadership".

The statement also said the decision to abandon the much-criticised algorithm in favour of teacher-assessed grades was taken by the regulator, and that the department agreed with it.

Earlier, the health secretary defended his colleague Williamson, saying he had "done his best in very difficult circumstances".

 

[Bigboii]

Northern Ireland A-levels 'to be based on teachers' predictions'

We've already reported that GCSE results in Northern Ireland on Thursday will be based solely on grades predicted by teachers.

Now sources have told the PA news agency that A-level results are also set to be based on teachers' predictions.

Stormont ministers faced a backlash from head teachers, parents and pupils after last week's results were based around an approach calculating grades on a regional basis.

Education minister Peter Weir has been under pressure to act amid claims significant numbers of students were downgraded from their teachers' expectations.

Irish students

 

[MenInG]

Nearly half a million UK pupils face a fresh round of results chaos after exam board Pearson pulled its BTec results on the eve of releasing them.

Pearson said it would be re-grading all its BTecs to bring them in line with A-levels and GCSEs, which are now being graded via school-based assessments.

The 11th-hour move affects 450,000 pupils, 250,000 of whom received grades last week.

The rest were due to collect results on Thursday along with GCSE candidates.

Pearson apologised and acknowledged the additional uncertainty the decision would cause. The exam board also conducts a large proportion of the GCSEs and A-levels taken by UK pupils.

However, the late decision will cause even further disruption to students seeking places in further and higher education.

Universities are already struggling to cope with the impact of grade changes on their admissions process.

'Worrying timing'

Pearson said in a statement: "BTec qualification results have been been generally consistent with teacher and learner expectations, but we have become concerned about unfairness in relation to what are now significantly higher outcomes for GCSE and A-levels."

England's exams regulator has already said that the school-assessed GCSE and A-level grades are likely to be higher than last year by nine and 12 percentage points respectively.

The Association of Colleges' chief executive, David Hughes, said it had asked Pearson to look at a small number of results which had seemed unfair.

He added: "The timing is worrying, because thousands of students were due to get their results in the morning and others have already got results which we know will not go down, but might improve.

"So it is vital for students that this is sorted in days rather than weeks so students have the chance to celebrate and plan their next steps.

"It is a stressful time and this delay will extend the uncertainties."

Leora Cruddas, chief executive of the Confederation of School Trusts, said Pearson was right to act but added: "This late notification will cause very significant challenges for schools, trusts and colleges.

"It simply is unacceptable that some of the most disadvantaged students will not receive their grades tomorrow and that nothing has been done to correct this over the past few days."

Pearson has now written to all schools, colleges and training providers to say the following qualifications are being re-graded:

BTec Level 3 Nationals (2010 QCF and 2016 RQF)
BTec Level 1/2 Tech Awards
BTec Level 2 Technicals
BTec Level 1/2 Firsts

A Pearson spokesman said: "Although we generally accepted centre assessment grades for internal (i.e. coursework) units, we subsequently calculated the grades for the examined units using historical performance data with a view of maintaining overall outcomes over time.

"Our review will remove these Pearson-calculated grades and apply consistency across teacher-assessed internal grades and examined grades that students were unable to sit.

"We will work urgently with you to reissue these grades and will update you as soon as we possibly can.

"We want to reassure students that no grades will go down as part of this review.

"Our priority is to ensure fair outcomes for BTec students in relation to A-Levels and GCSEs and that no BTec student is disadvantaged."

"Therefore, we ask schools and colleges not to issue any BTec L1 and L2 results on 20 August, as these will be reviewed and where appropriate, re-graded."


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/education-53843148?__twitter_impression=true

 

[Firebat]

Schools minister warned about grading algorithm in July

Schools minister Nick Gibb said he was warned about potential problems with the algorithm for moderating A-level and GCSE results back in July.

His boss, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson, had previously said the problems became "clear" last weekend.

But Mr Gibb told BBC Breakfast he was made aware of concerns by the former top official at the Department for Education, Sir Jon Coles, that poorer students could be disadvantaged by the system for moderating exam results.

The Times newspaper reported that Sir Jon, who is now the chief executive of a group of academies and fee-paying schools, warned Mr Williamson about potential problems six weeks ago.

Mr Gibb, who first became a schools minister in 2010, said he had called a meeting with the regulator Ofqual and other senior officials to discuss the issues raised by Sir Jon.

But he said he was "reassured" the algorithm would not have that effect.

The algorithm downgraded around 40% of last week's A-level results, leading to a public outcry and concerns about GCSEs.

 

[Robert]

More evidence of this government’s singular incompetence.

 

[The Viper]

Pupils get record GCSE grades as BTecs are pulled

GCSE passes for England's pupils, in the most disrupted academic year in UK history, have risen dramatically.

Grades have been awarded by schools, after exams were cancelled, and data shows 78.8% of papers were rated grade 4 or above. It was 69.9% in 2019.

There was a rise of a quarter in the top grades - a 7 or above, which is equivalent to an A in the old system.

The exams season has been dogged by chaos, with policy changes leading to grades being altered at the 11th hour.

In the latest debacle BTec grades were pulled hours before pupils were to receive them although some schools are giving out grades, which were assessed by schools, anyway.

And universities are still waiting for pupils' adjusted A-level results, while they attempt to squeeze as many as possible into the courses they have qualified for.

Universities and the government have now agreed to honour all degree places - this year or next - to students who have obtained the right grades, but there are concerns about the funding of these.

England's exams watchdog, Ofqual, says this year's results cannot be compared to last year's results and has confirmed that students who are unhappy with GCSE grades awarded by their school or college will not be able to appeal - other than for an administrative error.

The watchdog's efforts to maintain standards through a, now discredited, algorithm led to problems for the awarding of A-levels last week and stress for students.

In Wales, where grades are alphabetical, 26% of results were at grade A*or A - up by eight percentage points from just over 18% in 2019.
Almost all pupils - 99.6% - received passes at A*-G grades, compared to 97.2% last year.

In Northern Ireland, 37.1% of pupils achieving grade A* to A - up by 5.7 percentage points on last year.

The numbers receiving A*-G grades increased by 0.9 percentage points to 99.7%.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-53846874

 

[MenInG]

KARACHI: From spending several anxious hours since the early hours of Friday worrying about what is to become of their grades to when they started checking if their revised grades had been uploaded, several Cambridge International students heaved a sigh of relief, though there were still many who remained unhappy about what they got. But none of them blamed Cambridge International. They said their educational institutions were the ones really at fault here.

“It was on August 11 when I contacted my school for my grades and I was given the Cambridge results which happened to be one U, a B and a C. When I asked my school about the predicted grades which they had given to Cambridge, the administration said three **. Later, my headmistress told me that they had sent Cambridge two ** and one A. My revised grades today are two ** and one C,” one student, who wasn’t too happy with what he got, told Dawn.

“I know that I have been wronged but not by Cambridge International. There is another student who the headmistress is quite fond of had three As for his predicted grades. When I asked her why I deserved a B for a subject, she pointed to my B in my midterms but the other student had got a D in his midterms. When I asked her about that she had no answer,” he said.

“Call it favouritism, call it nepotism, it’s all part of our society and now it has hurt us, students, badly because Cambridge International was depending on our institutions for guidance regarding our grades. They thought they would do it honestly but what can one say or do?” He concluded.

“We don’t blame Cambridge International. They only acted on the predicted grades given to them for the students by their respective educational institutions. The real culprits are the education institutions here,” an A-Levels student from another elite and reputable institution in Gulshan-i-Iqbal said.

“Some teachers and principals had their favourite students for whom they sent A or A+ grades. Then to balance it out as so many or all can’t be getting As, they mentioned lower predicted grades for others,” she added.

“The second time around, when they were asked to reassess it was an ego issue for them. Some had a problem saying that they had been mistaken earlier,” the student, who was also not pleased with her revised grades, said.

The student said that her particular institution also made errors in registrations. “See the June candidates get their results by August in time for applying to colleges. That is why it is the most desirable time to appear for one’s final exams. Those who appear in November are usually the ones who didn’t get the desired grades or who failed and want to reappear in certain subjects. November results come around January, which wastes a student’s entire year as he or she misses college application time.

“When our college made errors in registrations for June and when the students, who had registered for June approached them, they told them that there was something or the other missing in their papers, which was lies. Many students’ entire year was wasted thanks to the carelessness of the institution,” she said.

Earlier, after the initial grades announced on Aug 11, and after hearing out the students’ concerns, Cambridge International explained the procedure of awarding grades to students for the June 2020 series.

They had decided that the grades that they issue for the June 2020 series would not be lower than the predicted grade submitted by the school, and where a grade that they issued last week was higher than the predicted grade, the higher grade would stand.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1575697/cambridge-announces-revised-grades

 

[Giannis]

England is so backwards.

 

[Firebat]

PM 'sorry for distress' over exam results - No 10

Downing Street says UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is "sorry for any distress" caused to pupils because of the confusion over exam results in England.

The apology comes a week after a government U-turn meant A-level and GCSE students in England were given grades estimated by their teachers, rather than being moderated by an algorithm. Examinations in UK schools were scrapped this year due to the coronavirus lockdown.

Boris Johnson's official spokesman said the government’s focus is on ensuring students can move onto the next phase and that schools in England can return next week.

The spokesman said the government had been working closely with schools and local authorities to ensure they can open safely and had been clear that schools should open full time and provide the full syllabus.

Teachers would be expected to provide a remote education for any pupils unable to attend.

Asked whether parents would be fined if they didn’t send their children to school, he said that would be a "last resort" and head teachers and parents should speak if there are concerns.

It comes after Mr Johnson said it is "vitally important" children go back to school, with the life chances of a generation at stake.

 

[The Viper]

Ofqual chief Sally Collier steps down after exams chaos

The head of England's exams regulator, Sally Collier, has quit after thousands of students' marks were downgraded for exams they were unable to sit.

Ofqual chief Ms Collier has been under fire for a flawed algorithm which made GCSE and A-level marks "unfair and unfathomable".

It also led to many A-level students losing university places they had been offered, and a crunch on degree places.

The previous regulator, Dame Glenys Stacey, has been asked to step in.

She will run the next stage of the exams process on a temporary basis until December, the Ofqual board said, along with the chief of Ofsted, Amanda Spielman, who previously worked at Ofqual.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-53909487

 

[MenInG]

PM blames exam chaos on 'mutant algorithm'

More from the prime minister's visit to a school in the East Midlands, where he blamed a "mutant algorithm" for the A-level and GCSE results chaos.

A government U-turn this month meant that A-level and GCSE students in England were given grades estimated by their teachers, rather than by an algorithm.

Speaking to pupils during a visit to a school in Leicestershire, Boris Johnson said: "I'm afraid your grades were almost derailed by a mutant algorithm.

"I know how stressful that must have been for pupils up and down the country.

"I'm very, very glad that it has finally been sorted out."

Mr Johnson had previously claimed that the algorithm-based grades would be "robust" and "dependable".

Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, accused the prime minister of attempting to "shrug away" the issue.

"It is brazen of the prime minister to idly shrug away a disaster that his own government created. Parents, students, teachers and heads will be horrified to see the leader of this country treat his own exams fiasco like some minor passing fad," he said.

He said the current education system "needs ripping up, and for students entering exams next summer we need quick and decisive action".

 

[MenInG]

The marking system which threatened to downgrade the exam results was not a "mutant algorithm" as claimed by the prime minister, but contained errors that were "predictable" and "could have been foreseen", according to a leading statistician.

Boris Johnson told a group of schoolchildren on Wednesday that "I'm afraid your grades were almost derailed by a mutant algorithm," a reference to the exam marking system which was scrapped after almost 40% of A-level results were downgraded from teachers' predictions.

Stian Westlake, the CEO of the Royal Statistical Society (RSS) said the "colourful phrase" did reflect the fact that ministers, officials and students "were surprised by the results that it generated".

But, he said, the algorithm "wasn't a mutant or a freak of nature. This was something that could have been foreseen".

Mr Westlake, a former adviser to the Universities Minister, said the results were "a predictable surprise" because of the demand that it reduce grade inflation. "The fact that this could have produced a lot of inaccuracy, which translates into unfair grades for individuals, that was known," he said.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has blamed exam regulator Ofqual, claiming he "consistently asked a large number of challenging questions about the system" and was reassured about its "robustness and its fairness".

But Ofqual has said that it was instructed by ministers to keep grade inflation down, which meant students' results would have to be downgraded from teachers' predicted grades, which tend to be higher than actual results.

Professor Jo-Anne Baird, a member of Ofqual's standing advisory committee, told the BBC: "The Secretary of State for Education asked them to produce a system which didn't allow exam results to go up from previous years. So effectively this government has been very good at controlling grade inflation and that's essentially what they asked for, a system that did that."

Asked whether or not the exam marking algorithm was "mutant", Downing Street declined to comment.

Leyton Sixth Form College student Wiktoria Sniadowska, who was predicted AAA by her school then given BBC by the algorithm, said she felt let down by the prime minister's "mutant algorithm" comments.

"Boris Johnson is prime minister, he's in charge. If it's a mutant, we knew it was going to be created this way for months in advance, so why didn't he stop it? Why didn't he say: 'This is wrong, we need to do it differently'?"

Mr Westlake said the row showed the need for transparency in the creation of algorithms, not only because it helped prevent errors, but also because it allowed a public debate about their aims.

"I think the really important lesson from this is that we can't treat statistics as a holy grail," he said.

"We need to prepare them with transparency, we need to make sure we understand the assumptions that are going into them and we need to make sure that we use them in the right way.

"If you've got statistics that only have a certain degree of accuracy, as for example the A-level adjustments did, we can't pretend they are more accurate than they really are."

The RSS offered to help Ofqual with the algorithm in April, writing to the regulator to suggest that it take advice from external experts, but Ofqual would only agree to consider the assistance if the academics signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) which prevented them from commenting in any way on the final choice of the model for five years after the results were released.

Ofqual chair Roger Taylor disputed this account, describing the NDA as a "normal and entirely ethical mechanism to ensure people can speak freely in the discussions and can see analyses of confidential data without fear of information being made public during the deliberative process".

The RSS defended its stance, saying it had been advised that the NDA was "very widely drafted" and described Ofqual's complaints as "baseless". The letter concluded: "It's time for Ofqual to cease defending the indefensible and focus on fixing the issue."

Sky News revealed last weekend that the chair of Ofqual owned a medical data firm that was involved in a major NHS care scandal. Roger Taylor's company was criticised by the public inquiry into the Mid Staffs scandal for not giving "complete clarity" about an algorithm - the same fault Ofqual stands accused of.

https://news.sky.com/story/exams-al...ictable-errors-says-top-statistician-12058124

 

[MenInG]

Labour is calling for next year's A-levels and GCSEs in England to be delayed in order to help pupils cope with the impact of the coronavirus crisis.

Shadow education secretary Kate Green said exams should be pushed back to allow extra teaching time as pupils now face a "mountain to climb" after losing out on up to six months of teaching.

 

[Firebat]

2021 exams: Decision on GCSE and A-levels timetable weeks away - as regulator considers online tests in case of lockdown

Ofqual has said a decision on if and when next year's GCSE and A-level exams will go ahead is weeks away - and has floated the idea of online tests if necessary.

The exam regulator launched a consultation in July, which proposed delaying the start of GCSEs until after half term, pushing them back to 7 June to allow for more teaching time.

It said any changes would be announced in August, but it has not yet made a final decision on the timetable for 2021, and is still drawing up contingency plans for next summer's exams.

Questioned by MPs on how it planned to avoid a repetition of this summer's exams fiasco, when ministers decided to scrap exams for an algorithm to award grades, Ofqual's chairman suggested the regulator was keen for traditional exams to take place.

Richard Taylor told the Commons education committee on Wednesday it was "absolutely essential" students sit a "fair, comparative test".

And in the event of a local lockdown, he said there are "mechanisms" - including "online tests" - which offered a solution.

Ofqual, which has been considering whether to delay exams next year, has been consulting on the issue since June.

In a consultation document last month, Ofqual revealed that 37% of respondents strongly supported delaying the exams, compared with 8% who said it was a bad idea.

The regulator said: "While there was general support for a delay to the exams, to allow more time for teaching, respondents were less positive about this if it meant a potential delay to results.

"We will continue to work with the DfE (Department for Education), exam boards, regulators in Wales and Northern Ireland, and groups representing schools, colleges and higher education to consider the best approach, and we will confirm our decisions as soon as possible."

That was back on 3 August, and Julie Swan - the regulator's executive director for general qualifications - told MPs a decision would be announced in the coming weeks.

It means staff and students face further uncertainty with just two terms left to prepare for GCSEs and A-levels, having lost several months of learning due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Mason Parkes, 15, who attends Bristnall Hall Academy in Oldbury, West Midlands, told Sky News: "It's definitely hard and challenging... I would like the government to make a decision because we don't know whether we are doing them later or if it's just certain subjects or if it's teachers' predicted grades.

"It's definitely worrying because we don't know what's going on or what to do, or what we are doing. I hope a decision is going to be made soon. I'm just going to try and get my head down and revise in every subject that I can."

Rajan Mattu, 15, added: "I feel the government needs to make a decision quite quickly so we know what we need to do for our exams so we can prepare in the right way.

"I wouldn't prefer them to be delayed. I would rather get them out of the way and done. All we can do is work, but we don't know what to work on."

On Tuesday, Education Secretary Gavin Williams, who supports delaying exams, told MPs the government is determined that exams will go ahead in 2021, adding they were working with the sector to ensure "this is done as smoothly as possible".

Labour has said next year's exams should be pushed back to mid-summer due to the impact of the COVID-19 crisis.

Shadow education secretary Kate Green said pupils starting Year 11 and 13 face "a mountain to climb" unless the timetable is changed.

She said exams due next May need to be delayed until June or July to facilitate extra teaching time.

Some BTEC students still haven't received their grades, Labour MPs Sarah Owen and Shabana Mahmood told Mr Williamson, who said the issue was being addressed "as swiftly as possible".

"This is something that occurs each year, and the number of youngsters who received their BTEC awards was significantly higher than the previous year, but there are some centres where there continue to be some challenges," he said.

Ofqual was fiercely criticised after the "moderation" algorithm it designed meant around 280,000 students in England saw their A-level marks fall by one grade or more from their predicted results.

The algorithm, used following the cancellation of this year's exams due to the coronavirus pandemic, was claimed to have disproportionately penalised students from schools in disadvantaged communities.

The regulator faced further anger over its handling of the appeals process for students who wished to challenge their results.

Following the controversy, Ofqual and the government performed a U-turn by ditching the algorithm and announcing A-level and GCSE students would instead be handed exam grades as predicted by their teachers.

https://news.sky.com/story/2021-exa...ers-online-tests-in-case-of-lockdown-12061570

 

[Firebat]

English schools 2021 exams delayed by three weeks due to COVID-19

LONDON (Reuters) - Students in England will take school exams in the summer of 2021 but they will be delayed by three weeks to help address disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said on Monday.

Williamson was accused of overseeing a fiasco this summer over how results were awarded to teenagers unable to take their exams because of the crisis, after the mathematical model used to assess teacher’s predictions lowered grades for almost 40% of students taking their main school-leaving exams.

Teachers said he ignored warnings that the grading system would lead to unfair results and he was lampooned by the media for his handling of the issue.

“Exams are the fairest way of judging a student’s performance so they will go ahead, underpinned by contingency measures developed in partnership with the sector,” said Williamson.

“Students have experienced considerable disruption and it’s right we give them, and their teachers, the certainty that exams will go ahead and more time to prepare.”

England’s summer exam series will start on June 7 and end on July 2 for almost all AS, A levels and GCSEs, the government said. Results are slated to be delivered on August 24 for A/AS levels and August 27 for GCSEs. The plan is for students to start the following academic year as normal.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...-by-three-weeks-due-to-covid-19-idUSKBN26X1PM

 

[MenInG]

The education secretary, Gavin Williamson, has said he could “absolutely” give a cast-iron guarantee that exams in England would not be cancelled next year, as the government unveiled plans to support students affected by the pandemic.

After months of uncertainty for pupils and their teachers, the government announced that pupils in England sitting GCSEs and A-levels next summer would be given advance notice of topics and allowed to take in exam aids including formula sheets.

Students will also be awarded more generous grades, in line with last summer’s significantly improved results, the government said.

 

[Firebat]

English school exams cancelled after COVID-19 disruption

LONDON (Reuters) - Schoolchildren in England will not sit formal exams this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, education minister Gavin Williamson said on Wednesday, with teachers to assess students and decide their grades instead.

England entered its third national lockdown on Tuesday, shutting schools and shops and ordering citizens to stay at home as a surge in cases of a new coronavirus variant threatens to overwhelm the healthcare system.

Williamson said exams for 14 to 18 year olds - used to determine entry to colleges and university - would be replaced by teacher-assessed grades.

“Although exams are the fairest way we have of assessing what a student knows, the impact of this pandemic now means that it is not possible to have these exams this year,” he told parliament.

Earlier this year Williamson was widely criticised for relying on an algorithm to determine students’ grades. He was forced to abandon the system after flaws produced unfair results for some students, affecting their admission to universities.

After a public outcry, the algorithm-determined results were replaced with teachers’ predicted grades where students felt they had been marked too low.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...elled-after-covid-19-disruption-idUSKBN29B1QH

 

[Firebat]

Let's see if they learned anything from last year's fiasco then.