Consultations begin on giving students grades in summer 2021

Following the announcement that exams this summer are cancelled, our regulator Ofqual and the DfE have today launched consultations on the alternative arrangements to be put in place to ensure students receive grades this year. There are two 14 day consultations which ask for feedback on proposals for GCSEs, AS and A Levels and for vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs).

Here’s our quick summary of the main proposals for:

GCSEs, AS and A Levels

• a student’s grade in a subject will be based on their teacher’s assessment of the standard at which they are performing based on areas of content they have studied
• teachers will draw on a range of evidence of a student’s work in making their final assessment
• the final assessment will be made towards the end of the academic year, at about the time students would have taken their exams
• exam boards will provide guidance and training, and make available a set of papers for teachers to use with their students as part of their assessment.

VTQs and other general qualifications

• for those VTQs and other general qualifications that are most similar to GCSE, AS and A levels (e.g. Cambridge Nationals, Cambridge Technicals and Core Maths) it is not viable for external exams to go ahead
• for these qualifications, a revised version of the regulatory framework will be created to allow awarding organisations to continue to offer adapted assessments and to award qualifications where exams have not taken place and learners have not been able to complete all other assessments
• for Functional Skills and for qualifications that require a practical assessment to demonstrate occupational competency or that are licence to practise (eg CPC), assessments should continue to take place subject to public health guidance
• for these qualifications, where there is no way to deliver assessments safely or when students have not received enough learning to reach occupational competency, assessments will have to be delayed.

For all qualifications, there is a proposed appeals route for students to challenge their grades and it is proposed that for all students, including those who are studying independently or who are home educated, will get a grade.

We are actively engaging with the DfE and Ofqual on the alternative arrangements to be put in place this summer and will be submitting our own response to today’s consultations. The consultations close on 29 January 2021 and we encourage teachers, students and parents to give feedback on the GCSE/A Level and VTQ proposals.

Over the coming weeks and months, we are committed to supporting you so you have clarity on proposals and decisions. We will keep you fully informed about what this means for you via regular bulletins on our website, weekly email updates and social media. We’ll be running CPD and events for teachers and for exams officers. As always, our Customer Support Centre is here to support you, so please contact us on 01223 553998 or email us via support@ocr.org.uk if you have questions.

Above all, our top priority is to support you and your students and ensure no student is disadvantaged by the cancellation of exams this summer.