Students who disagree with their predicted A-Level and GCSE grades may not be able to sit exams in the autumn to try and amend them, it has been reported.
Due to the coronavirus lockdown, exams regulator Ofqual has instructed teachers to provide grades for students which reflect the results they would have been most likely to achieve if their summer exams had gone ahead.
The watchdog had insisted should they been unhappy with their grades, then students ‘will also have the opportunity to sit an exam in the autumn’.
It has now emerged however that major UK exam boards are not able to confirm whether they will be running a full complement of exams in the autumn for students to sit should they wish to dispute their predicted grade.
Due to the coronavirus lockdown, exams regulator Ofqual has instructed teachers to provide grades for students which reflect the results they would have been most likely to achieve if their summer exams had gone ahead (stock image)
When contacted by Tes – a UK publication aimed at education professionals – AQA would not comment, and Pearson Edexcel referred it to Ofqual for information on the consultation.
An an OCR spokesman told the publication it ‘intends to consult on proposals relating to the autumn series in due course’.
He added: ‘We want to help our students to progress with grades they can be proud of. We are giving careful consideration to all aspects of our response to the cancellation of this summer’s exams, including the composition of the autumn series.
‘Ofqual intends to consult on proposals related to the autumn series in due course, and we will provide our schools and colleges with more information as soon as we are able.’
Should a full complement of exams not go ahead on the autumn, it could put A-Level students’ university places in jeopardy.
Those who miss out may have to take a gap year, taking the exams next summer instead.
Ofqual said: ‘If exam boards decide not to make exams available in the autumn for particular qualifications then any students who consider that the results issued this summer do not reflect how they would have performed in an exam in that qualification will be unable to take such an exam until summer 2021.’
Despite Ofqual’s initial suggestion of autumn exams however, the regulator has now revealed ‘a number of risks associated with compelling exam boards to make qualifications available in all subjects’.
It said – in a document outlining how exams should be handled in 2020 – that among the risks for autumn exams were ‘the costs for exam boards of providing exams for which there are very small numbers of entries’.
It added: ‘We are mindful that the autumn series will likely take place during the first term for a new cohort of students – who might have been away from school for a prolonged period – when teaching resources will be stretched.
‘In these circumstances it might be beneficial to the system as a whole to allow exam boards to reduce the number of exams taking place, and the consequent impact on teachers who are also assessors, even if this does detrimentally affect some students.’
The watchdog noted the impact of not allowing exams to go ahead in Autumn.
It said: ‘We recognise that this would undermine the value of the autumn series in mitigating any unfairness which students and centres might consider arises from our proposals in respect of calculated grades and appeals.
‘The autumn series will only provide an opportunity for students to demonstrate their abilities in an exam to the extent that exam boards decide to make those exams available.’
It has left the decision to hold a full complement of exams down to individual boards.
‘Unless we decide otherwise, the default position will be that exam boards will decide which exams to make available to students in the autumn series,’ it said.
Geoff Barton, the Association of School and College Leaders general secretary, told Tes that he would like to see at least ‘an autumn series in GCSE English and Maths, and in A-level subjects’. While Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the NEU teaching union, said it was too early for Ofqual to make any firm promises on Autumn exams.
An Ofqual spokesperson said: ‘There are a number of considerations relating to the autumn series where we will set out further proposals for consultation as soon as we reasonably can.
‘These areas include whether we should require exam boards to make exams available in an autumn series, rather than permit them to do so.’
On top of possibly not being able to sit their exams in Autumn, pupils who should have been sitting GCSEs and A-levels this summer will not be able to challenge the grades their teachers give them, proposals last week revealed.
They will have no way of appealing the ‘professional judgment’ of their teachers as it would be ‘inappropriate, ineffective and unfair’, Ofqual said in a consultation document.
Schools and colleges have been told to rank pupils within each grade for each subject but not to share these with families until final results are issued.
School Standards Minister Nick Gibb said: ‘I am pleased to confirm that GCSE and A-level students will still receive their exam results as planned this summer, on Thursday August 20 and Thursday August 13 respectively.
‘I want to thank all those who are helping to make this happen despite the challenges we are facing.
‘We know that this is an important milestone for students, parents and teachers and so I hope this news will provide them with some reassurance and clarity.’
Schools in England closed more than three weeks ago to the majority of pupils, apart from the children of key workers and vulnerable youngsters, due to the coronavirus outbreak.
On Wednesday, Ofqual launched a two-week consultation on its plans for awarding grades to GCSE and A-level students amid the pandemic.
The regulator had previously said only Year 11 pupils would be awarded GCSE grades, but now it is considering issuing grades to those in Year 10 and below after concerns were raised by parents.
Ofqual is also proposing that appeals should only be allowed if a school or college made a data error when submitting information to the exam board, or if the exam board made a mistake when calculating, assigning or communicating a grade.
The watchdog said: ‘We do not believe it would be meaningful or appropriate for students to appeal on the basis of their centre’s judgment of their likely performance in the exams, had they gone ahead, or on their position in the centre’s rank order.’
It comes as the Government last week confirmed students will receive their GCSE and A-level grades on the pre-planned results days in August after exams were cancelled amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
A-level pupils will get their results on August 13 and GCSE students will be given their grades on August 20, the Department for Education (DfE) said.
It comes after exams regulator Ofqual said the results would be released no later than originally planned and suggested they could be made available sooner.
The Government originally said it was aiming for grades to be awarded to pupils by the end of July.