The 2020 summer GCSE and A level result period was challenging for everyone, particularly for young people awaiting the outcome that would decide their immediate future. Whatever one thinks of the methods employed to determine grades, of the policy changes …
We have today published three evaluation reports looking at how grades were awarded in summer 2020. Taken together, they shine further light on the process of standardisation and on the differences between calculated grades, centre assessment grades and final grades. …
Today (17 December, 2020) is results day for the AS and A level autumn series (GCSE results days are in January and February). We understand how difficult life has been for students this year, and pay tribute to the resilience …
To be as fair as we can to those students, we are working with exam boards to carry forward the generosity from summer 2020 grades, the majority of which were based on centre assessment grades.
On Thursday, students will receive their A level results – a regular event and for many a cause for celebration at the close of the academic year, but so very different this year. It’s an anxious time for students, parents/carers …
This summer will be my twelfth at Ofqual. Each one has been different, but this one has been truly exceptional. However, over that time there has been one constant – fairness for students. This has always been at the heart …
Assessment and awarding of Vocational and Technical Qualifications (VTQs) in 2020 has been quite different to any previous year. Yet despite the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis leading to the cancellation of exams and most assessments, learners still need to be able to move on as planned – whether to university, college or sixth form, an apprenticeship …
Prof. Kevin Woods and Dr. Tee McCaldin are both psychologists working at the University of Manchester Institute of Education. They have written several posts on coping with exam anxiety for our blog, and this latest one looks at ways to manage anxious feelings before exam results.
On Tuesday we held our annual Summer Symposium. Given the circumstances this summer, it was a webinar, meaning we could speak to many more people than usual. In relation to GCSEs, AS and A levels in England, we focused on …
This year, exams and assessments in England have been cancelled to help stop the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19). Instead, for GCSEs, AS and A levels, and many similar vocational and technical qualifications taken for progression purposes, schools and colleges are …