GCSE and A-level exams summer 2021

GCSE and A-level exams summer 2021 The Long road ahead.

GCSE and A-level exams summer 2021. The Long road ahead for exam candidates. An opinion piece

GCSE and A-level examinations will not take place this summer in the normal old fashioned sense. Which we believe is a great shame. As the third lock down develops Ofqual were advising that exams should be avoided.

Schools and colleges are now closed for the majority. Although there are plenty of exemptions.

This however, does not mean exams and assessments have disappeared. In fact, there should be the expectation that there will be more rigorous exams and assessment than there was before. The advice is to keep learning, keep revising and expect hard examinations ahead.

The winding pathway for the summer exams of 2021

The key to succeed in the 2021 summer exams is to treat the whole affair as a long marathon with a steady incline.

Gently moving forward as the year progresses rising up over the subject. Surveying all of the course from the above and end with the full remit understanding. Whereas a sprint was the order of the day before the pandemic hit. Some key points to remember for those sitting GCSEs and A levels this summer.

There are still informal exams and assessments by the teachers before grades can be awarded.

All work done in the coming months count towards the portfolio of work. Every little informal test, homework, mock exams and assignment is important, as the tutors and teachers form opinions of the candidates' likely grade.

Universities and sixth-form are likely up their offer requirements as the natural grade inflation will occur.

What pupils and exam candidates will miss out on in the summer of 2021:

The biggest loss of the pandemic for GCSE and A Level candidates is the privilege for preparing for these exams. The preparation for final exams can be often more rewarding than that of the often toxic continual assessment. No doubt independent unbiased exam sitting is the fairest way to grade candidates.

Allowing sorts and choice for their next stage of education. Inevitably, with continual assessment you have grade inflation. Which leads to an unbalanced cohort entry to the most in demand courses.

Making everyone in the process worse off.

The unnamed unanimity of the marking of exam scripts that give exams the edge over continual assessment continues to be the most powerful form of exams. Whereas teachers know their students , have a relationship with their students and naturally have a bias one way or another. Filling in uncertainty with a presumption of what was previously experienced with the pupil leads to the toxicity and bias of continual assessment. This is compounded by the stats that girls do radically better than boys. Who push at the end in the sprint fashion.