While exams are scheduled to go ahead in summer 2022 and a range of adaptations in place to help students, the Department for Education (DfE) in England and Ofqual today confirmed their contingency plans if exams were not able to take place. This follows a joint consultation on arrangements that apply to GCSEs, AS and A Levels and Extended Project qualifications. Letters have been sent to students, private candidates and schools and colleges about the plans.

If exams did not proceed, the DfE in England and Ofqual have confirmed that:

• a teacher assessed grades (TAGs) process – similar to 2021 – is the contingency for 2022
• if exams were cancelled in some parts of England, TAGs would be implemented nationally
• Ofqual to publish guidance for teachers about how to collect evidence to inform TAGs
• Private candidates should register to sit exams in 2022 in the usual way. They will be supported to find opportunities to generate evidence required for a TAG.

Decisions on appeals and overall quality assurance have not been confirmed.

Ofqual guidance

Ofqual published new guidance today setting out what teachers should do during the rest of this academic year, until exams are taken, as a contingency. The guidance explains how to collect evidence from students in advance of any decision to cancel exams. It aims to help teachers “take a proportionate approach”, and advises that “where possible, centres’ existing assessment plans should be used”. Information on how TAGS would be determined in summer 2022 will only be published if exams cannot go ahead. Teachers must not attempt to determine TAGs unless exams are cancelled.

Key points:

• Students should be assessed under exam-like conditions
• Students should be assessed to a timetable that secures evidence which could be used to inform TAGs, including in the autumn term. (“A sensible approach may be to plan to assess students in each of the second half of the autumn term, the spring term, and the first half of the summer term.”)
• Students should be assessed on a wide range of content
• Total time spent assessing students should not normally exceed the total time students would spend taking exams for the relevant qualification, plus any time spent on non-exam assessment
• Assessment materials should be as useful as possible for students preparing to take summer exams – similar to full or parts of exam papers
• Students should not re-sit assessments
• Students must be told before each assessment their performance would be used as part of evidence to determine a TAG
• Teachers should mark in line with published exam board mark schemes and guidance
• Teachers may tell the student the grade at which their performance in the assessment indicates they have performed
• Students should be supported to complete their non-exam assessment (NEA) wherever possible
• Original student work must be retained by the centre
• Reasonable adjustments: the same adjustments made for disabled students taking exams in the summer should be applied, where possible, to assessments
• Special consideration: the teacher should adjust their marking if they are satisfied a student’s performance was affected by an event such as illness or family bereavement.

In addition, the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) has provided FAQs on topics such as malpractice and private candidates to support summer 2022 contingency planning.

OCR’s vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs)

For Cambridge Nationals and Cambridge Technicals and other vocational qualifications that are most similar to GCSEs, AS and A Levels, the intention is that results would be awarded using teacher assessed grades (TAGs), as they were in 2020/21. The process would be improved by providing tighter guidance on the evidence which TAGs would be based on. The approach to VTQ contingency arrangements is available within Ofqual’s Vocational and Technical Qualifications Contingency Regulatory Framework and in the DfE’s guidance on contingencies. We’ll be publishing more information in the coming days to support your contingency planning for our VTQs.

Supporting you in 2021/22

Above all, we’re committed to supporting teachers and students every step of the way during 2021/22. We will be adding information about evidence gathering and contingency arrangements to our own online FAQs. As part of today’s announcements, we’re also pleased to publish the extra formula and equation sheets that students taking our GCSE Maths, GCSE Combined Science and GCSE Physics exams will be able to use in their exams next summer.

We will continue to provide regular updates via email, on social media, and here on our website. Our customer support centre is always here to support you on 01223 553998 or support@ocr.org.uk. If you're not getting our weekly email updates already, please sign up here!