Possible solutions to this exam challenge of 2021 by Education Policy Institute
Possible solutions to this exam challenge of 2021 by Education Policy Institute
Education Policy Institute has come up with a few ideas to improve the efficacy to GCSE and A level exams in 2021.
More options in papers
The EPI say this will give pupils a better chance of answering questions on the content they have covered.
Natalie Perera, executive director of EPI
But EPI said: “We consider that the risks to pupils in navigating exams with more questions can be mitigated by allowing schools to guide pupils to the relevant questions or only putting certain sections in front of pupils.”
The report can be found here.
All for Grade Inflation
Allow some grade inflation especially around the 3 - 4 boundaries.
The EPI says this is the fair because the 2021 year will be up against the 2020 cohort for job competition. Which is what grades and exams are all about.
Ensure multiple papers are spaced out
to comply with Covid-19 should they be off self-isolating, to potentially have an exam time table that complies with.
If exams are cancelled, use assessments …
The EPI think tank suggests that these new assessments would be set by exam boards.
Adding schools should have the flexibility “so that they are only assessed against the content they have covered”.
While these assessments should replace mocks.
To avoid “gaming”, these assessments for each subject exams take place on the same day. Exam boards should only release boundaries if exams nationally cannot go ahead in the summer most pupils.
The EPI report states: “The government, in consultation with exam boards, should decide the precise threshold that would determine when to move from Special Consideration to the use of benchmarking grades.”
More research into Grade awarding for GCSE and A levels by teachers
EPI say they are not sure that the teacher led grades “a more reliable or consistent set of grades than the exams themselves”.
While more evidence about their effectiveness. While “urgently” needed to measure teacher assessments’ .