Summer Grades 2020
Ofqual has released its guidance on calculated grades for summer GCSE, AS and A level exams today, April 3rd. All of the relevant documents are linked below, including SFCA's overview of the main changes in a single table and a field guide to grading and ranking by Nick Allen. We have been working with Ofqual on these arrangements over the past couple of weeks and think we have arrived at the best possible arrangements given the challenging and unprecedented circumstances.
In summary, for every GCSE, AS and A level subject, exam boards will require each school and college to submit the following information:
• A centre assessment grade for each student
• The rank order of students within each grade
The deadline for submitting data to exam boards will be no earlier than 29 May. Exam boards will provide detailed instructions about how and when to submit the data as soon as possible.
So that the final grades awarded are as fair as possible, exam boards will use a statistical model to standardise grades across centres in each subject, considering
• expected grade distributions at national level,
• results in previous years at individual centre level, and
• the prior attainment profile of students at centre level.
Appeals are likely to be limited in scope. As you will see from the detailed documents below from Ofqual and from our summary table, there are still details to be fleshed out and we will keep you posted on progress. A particular priority is getting clarity on the arrangements for AGQs and we will be working on that next week.
Responding to today's announcement, Bill Watkin, Chief Executive of the Sixth Form Colleges Association, said:
“Ofqual has done a remarkable job in a very short period of time. The plans for the summer exam grades are sensible, sensitive and place the minimum burden on teachers while investing maximum faith in their professional judgement. There are still some details to be ironed out, notably the appeals process, the exam boards’ statistical modelling and the Autumn exam season, but sixth form colleges - the second biggest provider of A levels in England - will be pleased that the professionalism and expertise of teachers lie at the heart of these new plans. The next step is to ensure that classroom-based vocational qualifications, such as BTECs, receive the same treatment.”