How will schools deal with parental pressure over exam grades?
Ministry of Truth, by Terry Freedman
Recently, in an article entitled Reports of the death …, I wrote the following:
On 6 January 2021, the government confirmed that in summer 2021, students taking GCSE, AS and A levels regulated by Ofqual, should be awarded grades based on an assessment by their teachers. See Awarding qualifications in summer 2021.Even if every teacher awarding a grade is not only scrupulously honest, amazingly consistent and has a perfect understanding of what work at grade whatever looks like in practice, how on earth will consistency be guaranteed between schools? In other words, will the grade 2 I award be the same as the grade 2 that you award? These are well-known issues in assessment, and quite frankly I think it is dreadful that teachers be placed in this impossible position, which will be made infinitely worse by parents complaining that their child wasn’t awarded the highest possible grade.That’s why my personal preferred solution is to stick with externally set and marked exams.]
Ofqual (the exams regulator in England) has recognised the probability of parental pressure and has advised schools to keep records of parental pressure.
I hope schools take up this good advice.
