GCSEs and A-Levels to be graded more generously in wake of Covid disruption

7 February 2022, 20:56

Examiners will be asked to be more generous when marking GCSE and A-Level exams this year, as students deserve a "safety-net" following the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

For the past two years students were marked based on assessments by their teachers.

But this summer national exams will go ahead for the first time since the pandemic began, with grade boundaries likely to be lower than in previous years, England's exams regulator Ofqual says.

Grade boundaries will be set roughly between 2019 pre-pandemic levels and boundaries in 2021, when teacher assessment was used to set grades.

The news comes after exam boards published the details of topics that will appear in exams as part of changes to 2022's GCSEs and A-levels to mitigate the pandemic's impact on grades.

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The advance information is not intended to reduce the amount of content pupils need to be taught or tested on.

In all subjects - with the exception of English literature, history, ancient history, geography and art and design - pupils will be given notice about the topics to be covered in this summer's exams.

The information is designed to aid their preparation and help focus their revision.

Ofqual chief regulator Dr Jo Saxton said students had shown "resilience" during the pandemic and that Ofqual knew "they are seeking certainty".

"Advance information published today is one of the ways we are supporting students to have that certainty as they prepare to show what they know and can do," she added.

"We are also ensuring there is a safety-net for students with a generous approach to grading," she said.

Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi said: "Exams are the best and fairest form of assessment, and we firmly intend for them to take place this summer, giving students a fair chance to show what they know.

He added: "We know students have faced challenges during the pandemic, which is why we've put fairness for them at the forefront of our plans. The information to help with their revision published today, as well as the range of other adaptations, will make sure they can do themselves justice in their exams this summer."

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Dr Saxton said that examiners would be asked to be more generous when setting grade boundaries, to provide a safety net for students who could otherwise just miss out on their grades.

But although the grading guidelines are set to be more generous than they were before the pandemic, students will not have as much leeway as last year.

The Liberal Democrats said this meant that compared to 2021, 90,644 children could lose out on the top grades.

Sarah Hannafin, senior policy advisor for school leaders' union NAHT, said the advance material "should now provide teachers and students some help on where to focus their teaching, revision and exam preparations".

She added: "Advance information is not a simple list of what is assessed in the exam; the information is more complex, covers only high tariff questions and might relate to only a particular exam paper or section of it, with different approaches between specifications and subjects.

"We need to remember this is new to teachers so it will only be over the coming days that we learn whether they believe it will be sufficient to counter the levels of disruption which students have faced due to Covid.

"We would urge everyone to recognise that students have endured during one of the most pivotal period of their lives which can be pressurised even in 'normal' years.

"They simply want a fair shot at success in their exams this summer."