The GCSE And A Level Results Will Just Not Be Fair!

The new exam results based on a system of teacher expectations and school benchmarking, will not be accurate or fair to children from disadvantaged backgrounds, argues Professor Nicola Ingram

With exam results day looming in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, young people across the nations will be nervous, just as they are every August, as they gear up to receive their GCSE and A Level grades. But unlike other years, this year’s cohort are receiving grades for exams they did not sit, bringing additional uncertainty and trepidation to the whole affair.

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      string(5613) "At face value, there appears to be similarities with what occurred in 2020 with Centre Assessed Grades, but in practice, schools now face a different kind of challenge. In 2020, there was limited information to rely upon and new evidence could not be created for the purposes of grading. In 2021, schools will be gathering their data in the full view of expectant parents and pupils.In order to ensure that they have evidence upon which to grade their learners, many schools are choosing to proceed with ‘mini’ examinations internally.We anticipate that the greatest concern our school clients will have at present is ensuring that the process they use to assess grades is considered to be fair by their parents and learners, as well as externally, so that they do not open themselves up to criticism and disputes.This article looks at some questions schools may be asking at this stage, and how they can be answered. Is it ok that our pupils will see their exam questions in advance and how can we fairly support them with their revision?Schools now know, following the announcement by the Department for Education on Wednesday 17th March 2021 that all new materials produced by exam boards will be publically released imminently, around one to three teaching weeks before exams would most likely be taken.Many schools would have been relying on that new material for their exams and will want the security of using questions that already have a board-approved mark scheme.The public release of all new materials immediately raises questions about fairness and grade inflation, as students will have around three weeks to read the new materials, knowing that in all likelihood, they will have seen the questions that will form part of their examination.It is reasonable to assume that students who are well supported and industrious will take advantage of the situation to finesse their answers in advance. And of course your school will want to ensure, notwithstanding the practices of other schools in your sector, that your pupils are preparing as well as possible.You may therefore be asking:‘Should we tell our pupils the exam materials will be made public in advance?’‘If they submit a practice paper, are we able to mark it and give feedback, knowing that it could end up being an exam question?’From a legal perspective, there is not one right answer to these questions. However, our view is that hiding the fact that exam questions will be publicly released may actively disadvantage your students compared to pupils in other schools (in so far as any school’s approach to teacher assessed grades is comparable). It is likely many pupils will know this in any event, so to announce it to all pupils ensures a more level playing field within your school, which will help teachers when deciding grades.While the marking of past papers is normal practice to support revision, the school could be opening itself up to criticism if some pupils had their actual exam papers marked with feedback in advance, whereas others did not. Therefore, in those subjects where it is relevant, our recommendation would be that teachers continue to mark past papers, but that a blanket policy of not providing feedback on new materials is issued, if the school is going to use the new materials in its exams.How can we protect ourselves from the criticism that we have unfairly inflated our grades?We anticipate there will be significant grade inflation this year, as current indications suggest that exam boards will not question the professional judgement of teachers, unless there is a manifest error in the results in light of the controversy resulting from the aborted use of rankings and the Ofqual algorithm in 2020. However, schools can expect quality assurance checks so it will be important to be able to justify your grades and understand any significant deviations in your aggregate cumulative grade distributions when compared to your 2017-2019 results. The latest JCQ guidance requires schools to perform this historical analysis and comment on discrepancies, although there is not currently any advice on what else should be done about it (such as amending grades).Grade inflation will affect schools differently. Schools that already benefit from strong academic results will see less grade inflation simply because a larger proportion of their grades may already be at A and A*, so there is a limit to how much higher they can go. Those schools with lower grade averages could potentially see significant inflation if a greater proportion of students see their average results rise by two or more grades.Grade inflation is complicated and not usually born out of a desire to give students a better grade than they deserve. Many schools will wish to avoid inflating their grades because of the negative impact it may have on future year groups and the near-inevitable drop in results when life returns to normal.Each school will have a different approach as to how to grade their pupils, which may involve using the additional assessment materials (‘mini exams’), class work, course work and professional judgement in line with Ofqual’s latest guidance. In the independent sector, we understand that most schools will rely heavily on internal exams.In the circumstances, with students potentially being able to see their exam papers in advance, it is likely that this will result in some pupils getting better results than they would have otherwise.Our view is that schools can only ensure that they can justify their grades as"
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Assessment Policy

Teacher Assessed Grades: A Q &A Session

9 Apr 2021

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      string(5621) "This independent review by the University of Stirling looks at the processes through which National Qualifications were awarded in 2020 after exams were cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.In March 2020, in the face of the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and following the cancellation of the 2020 examinations diet, the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) was commissioned by the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills to provide alternative means for awarding qualifications, based on three principles:fairness to all learners; safe and secure certification of qualifications, while following the latest public health advice; maintaining the integrity and credibility of the qualifications system, ensuring that standards are maintained over time, in the interest of learners.The SQA subsequently developed the Alternative Certification Model (ACM), comprising the following steps:Step 1 — Estimates Step 2 — Awarding Step 3 — Results and certification Step 4 — AppealsThis review considers the evidence and provides recommendations around those issues which are most pertinent to consideration of awarding methodology in 2021 if there is further significant disruption to learning and teaching and/or the cancellation of exams.Key Findings:This report draws upon a range of evidence, including stakeholder testimony (generated in panel and individual interviews) and analysis of relevant documentation (including government and SQA emails). SQA, the government, local authorities and schools faced an extremely difficult set of circumstances, within which there were no easy solutions. In this context, a workable system for qualifications, the Alternative Certification Model (ACM), was developed. This was based on three core principles and four stages. All parties involved in the process were found to have acted with integrity, with the best interests of students in mind. Respondents (teachers, lecturers, head teachers and local authority officials) generally found that SQA guidance was clear and useful. The generation of estimated grades, while clearly undertaken with integrity in the majority of centres, has been subject to variation (in the types of evidence available, the processes followed for internal moderation and the support given by local authorities), which has impacted on reliability and consistency of assessment at this stage. The statistical approach to moderation could have been more transparent earlier in the process, and moreover it has led to anomalies in grade adjustment, especially at the level of subject cohorts within centres and individuals. There is widespread criticism by respondents of SQA for a perceived lack of transparency and a failure to engage in participative development of solutions with stakeholders. While the application of the appeals process offered an in-principle technical solution to address these anomalies, it paid insufficient attention to the severe impact on those students obliged to undergo it (in terms of mental health and wellbeing, missed opportunities to transition into Higher Education, etc.). Principles relating to what data is appropriate to be held by certain organisations at certain points in time.(i.e. SQA, the Scottish Government), which make perfect sense in normal times (e.g. arrangements around data sharing), appear to have impeded the development of actions that might have led to an earlier anticipation and mitigation of subsequent problems. The equalities implications of an over-reliance on a statistical approach, premised on comparison with historical cohort data, had been raised repeatedly from April onwards, but seem to have been under-emphasised by both the government and SQA until late in the process. Many stakeholders believe that, subsequently, opportunities were missed (or dismissed) to engage in qualitative moderation of the statistical process (e.g. sense-checking of anomalous cohort patterns by local authorities). There has been an erosion of trust/confidence in SQA amongst teachers and young people, and damaged relations in some cases between young people and their teachers. Communications (with professionals and with young people and their families) has been a constant source of criticism. The overall assessment is that, despite the extremely difficult environment for decision making, there are points in the process where different decisions may have led to better outcomes and at least partially avoided the controversy that ensued in August 2020. The primary intention is to illustrate how the system can benefit from lessons learned in 2020 to avoid a similar predicament in 2021.Summary of Recommendations:Suspension of the National 5 examinations diet in 2021, with qualifications awarded on the basis of centre estimation based upon validated assessments.The development of a nationally recognised, fully transparent and proportionate system for moderation of centre-based assessment.The development of more extensive approaches to collaborative decision making and co-construction by professional stakeholders of assessment practices related to National Qualifications.A commitment to embedding equalities in all aspects of the development of qualifications systems.The development of more systematic processes for working with and engaging young people, as stakeholders and rights holders in education.The development of a clear communications strategy, co-constructed with stakeholders, to ensure that the extraordinary arrangements for 2021 are as fully as possible understood by all parties.A"
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Leadership

National Qualifications Experience 2020: Rapid Review

20 Oct 2020

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      string(382) "teaching and engage parents effectively.  Critically, they seek to prepare students for life, not just exams. “At ReachOut, everyone in the organisation refers to four key character strengths: Staying Power, Self-Control, Fairness and Good Judgement. These are taught actively in academic, mentoring, social action, and sports contexts.Alison Braybrooks ..."
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      string(5608) "teaching and engage parents effectively.  Critically, they seek to prepare students for life, not just exams. “At ReachOut, everyone in the organisation refers to four key character strengths: Staying Power, Self-Control, Fairness and Good Judgement. These are taught actively in academic, mentoring, social action, and sports contexts.Alison Braybrooks, Reach Out.The TeacherThe importance of a whole school approachA whole-school approach to social and emotional wellbeing is one which “pervade(s) all aspects of the life of a school” (NICE, 2015:2), including: Whole-school policies and practices that promote positive wellbeing;Training and CPD for staff; The school culture, ethos and environment; Teaching, learning and the curriculum; Partnerships with parents, families and the wider school community. The importance of a whole-school approach is advocated within both government policy (NICE, 2015; Public Health England, 2015) and empirical research, which demonstrates that a whole-school approach can lead to improvements in the school culture, staff wellbeing, pupil behaviour, school attendance and academic attainment (Weare, 2015; Banerjee et al., 2014).  While specific provision for pupils with identified social, emotional and mental health needs is unquestionably important, a whole-school approach enhances the emotional health of all children and young people. Critically, a whole-school approach fosters a school culture which holds the wellbeing of the entire school community at its forefront. This school culture and ethos impacts on teacher wellbeing, teaching practice, including classroom management strategies, the teacher-pupil relationship and the culture within individual classrooms, all of which mediate a range of pupil wellbeing and academic outcomes (Jennings and Greenberg, 2009; Banerjee et al., 2014). Here are my key recommendations for implementing a whole-school approach:Ensure the Senior Leadership Team are committed to a whole-school approach: Effective leadership is paramount to implement supportive policies and practices, and establish a positive school culture. Develop school wide policies and practices that support emotional wellbeing: A whole-school approach ensures that all school policies and practices, including behaviour policies, anti-bullying policies, teaching and learning approaches etc. promote positive wellbeing and support the development of social and emotional competencies. School policies and practices should be regularly monitored and reviewed to ensure they are conducive to positive wellbeing, for both pupils and staff.  Use an explicit social and emotional curriculum, alongside embedding skill development across the curriculum: It is essential for pupils to receive explicit support to develop their social and emotional skills through discrete lessons using a relevant curriculum. Alongside this, social and emotional skill development should be embedded within all lessons across the curriculum, particularly those with applicable lesson content or delivery methods, i.e. group-based tasks. Involve all members of the school community: It is essential that all staff, regardless of their role, receive training and CPD in supporting pupils’ social and emotional wellbeing. Government bodies and trustees play a significant role in supporting the emotional health of a school, and Public Health England (2015) recommend appointing a governor with specific knowledge in this area to champion organisation-wide practices. NICE (2015) advocate working in partnership with parents to promote positive social and emotional wellbeing, including running parenting programmes within schools. This has the additional benefit of increasing parental engagement. Recognise that it takes time to fully embed a whole-school approach. It typically takes between two and four years to achieve measurable impact after first implementing a whole school change (Chapman et al, 2011. However, investing the time and resources into fully embedding approaches produces long-term benefits on the emotional health of the whole school community, as well as enduring impacts on pupil social, emotional and academic outcomes.”A true Alliance for Fair EducationWe have now been a working group for two years, and although are individual voices continue to be heard, as a collective we are coming together.  A ‘Wordle’ of the testimonials above yields the diagram below.Much of this collective voice has been achieved through a group Growth Mindset (Dweck, 2008).  We demonstrate the importance of a broad range of skills.  We know that defining key strengths as either ‘character’, ‘wellbeing’ or ‘emotional health’ covers a multitude of trending terminology, and sometimes dilutes some important nuances of child development.  We are however committed to the use of different terms without fear, in order to emphasize our message without jargon, acronyms or political correctness. We encourage, and demand, rich debate.  We know there is a wealth of good practice out there, and our work is about pinpointing where this practice is effective, so others can learn from it. Our report will highlight published, open-access case studies which suggest good practice brings both short and long-term impact: young people improve their own confidence, resilience and wellbeing and also make a real difference to those they work with.  The prospects of many are changed for the better.We are prepared to celebrate wrong"
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Mental Health

Whole person Whole school Whole lot of impact

20 Jun 2017

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      string(322) "... in the state system attend a religious school.One reason for their popularity is that pupils tend to do better in faith schools thanothers in exams. In 2009, 57 per cent of pupils in faith schools passed national exams(GCSEs) with acceptable grades, including those in maths and English, compared ..."
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      string(5627) "12Vol 5.2School Leadership Todaywww.teachingtimes.comTrendsFaithschoolsHistorically, the Church has played a large part in UK schools. Before the statetook over, most schools were run by or were part of a religious organisation.According to the Education Act 1944, every state-funded school had tostart the school day with a session of collective worship involving all pupils.Until relatively recently, this would almost inevitably mean Christian-based worship.However, in recent years, the UK has become more secular, but also a population whichcontains people of many different faiths.As a result of this – and his goal to give parents more choice over the education oftheir children – former prime minister, Tony Blair, raised the profile of church schoolsby encouraging existing ones to expand, and by incorporating other religions into thestate school system. The first state-funded Muslim and Sikh schools opened soon afterhe took power, and the first Hindu school in 2008.Today, almost a quarter of all children in the state system attend a religious school.One reason for their popularity is that pupils tend to do better in faith schools thanothers in exams. In 2009, 57 per cent of pupils in faith schools passed national exams(GCSEs) with acceptable grades, including those in maths and English, compared withThe risks ofreligious selectionFaith schools have never been more popular and they are widelyregarded as centres of academic excellence. But are religiousstate funded schools also discriminatory in terms of religion,race and social and economic segregation?13Vol 5.2School Leadership Todaywww.teachingtimes.comTrendsFaithschools51 per cent at non-religious state schools.One of the most effective studies supporting theargument that religion is beneficial in education wasconducted by William Jeynes in 2003. His study evaluatedthe effects of students’ religious commitment on theiracademic achievement. The results demonstrated thatstudents with high levels of religious commitmentdid better than students with lower levels of religiouscommitment on most tests of academic achievement.Another study by Guttmann in 1984 found thatchildren who attended religious schools had higher levelsof moral reasoning and more resistance against cheatingon a paper-and-pencil test than children who attendedsecular schools.The disturbing realityMore recent studies however, have suggested thatstudent performance may have more to do with theintake of students than with the quality of education.Faith schools are allowed to select pupils according towhether their parents are observant religiously, and suchparents are often of higher educational attainment orwealthier.In fact, repeated studies have shown that wherethere is religious selection in church-run state schools,there is also social selection. A report by academics atthe London School of Economics in 2009 reaffirmedthat the range of admissions criteria allowed scope forschool ‘discretion’, but social selection doesn’t even needto be deliberate on the part of church-run state schools.Even the most socially progressive school will find, if itsadmissions criteria allow for religious selection, that itis middle-class parents with the time and the means toplay the system whose children will end up attendingthe school. Therefore, the pupils admitted to religiouslyselective schools tend to be more academically ableand less likely to be on free school meals than others inthe area. In other words, they show all the attributes ofsocially selected children.Jeremy Rodell, Chair of the Richmond InclusiveSchools Campaign (RISC), recently said: “There is intense competition for places atgood schools, especially in London. Yet locally we’ve found that over a third of primaryschool places are at schools applying some degree of faith-based selection. And evennew schools apply religious discrimination of up to 100 per cent of their places.“So some parents have a far wider choice than others, and our schools are moresegregated than the areas they cover. That cannot be right. The time has come to endthis unfair – and internationally unusual – practice once and for all.”Underpinning a divided societyNow a new campaign has been launched by the British Humanist Association (BHA),the Accord Coalition and the Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education to addressthe situation and bring fairness back to the system. The Fair Admissions Campaignwas launched on the back of three findings announced in each of the three areasin which faith-based admissions have discriminatory effects – racial discrimination,socio-economic discrimination and religious discrimination – and focuses solely on theissue of religious selection in admissions in state schools in England and Wales and itsconsequences.Professor Ted Cantle CBE, who commissioned and published The Cantle Reportby the Home Office after 2001’s summer of race riots, said: “One of the key issueswhich the world now faces is how we live together in an era of globalised and diversecommunities – so many of the tensions and conflicts in the UK and elsewhere are basedupon faith and ethnic divisions.”http://risetrust.org.uk/node/22http://risetrust.org.uk/node/22http://fairadmissions.org.uk/14Vol 5.2School Leadership Todaywww.teachingtimes.comTrendsFaithschools Religiously selective schools cannot of course be held solely responsible for allthese problems, but they do underpin a system in which children learn that they aredifferent and in which everyday contact is denied. They do not build friendships withchildren that are different"
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Leadership

The risks of religious selection

11 Jul 2013

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      string(253) "Policies that have put schools
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      string(352) "... question aboutwhat we want to achieve when we want to talk about‘narrowing the gap’. Should policy be aiming to achievethe same for everyone or fairness? For example, childrenfrom traveller communities who consistently score badlyin exams may find that formal education will not enhancetheir life chances. It means that if ..."
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      string(5621) "Vol 2.3 n www.teachingtimes.comEducationEvery Child Journal20Policies that have put schoolsin the frontline of tackling socialinequality have been dogged byshort-termism, inconsistencyand top-down managerialism.So have any of them beensuccessful? Tim Linehanlooks at a new publicationwhich has the answers.What roles can schools play in tackling socialinequality? So often, schools have been inthe front line of government policies to givechildren a fair and equal start in life. It’s anobvious place to start, but the question is how exactly canschools contribute? What role can schools play in unravellingthe complex contributory factors to social inequality? AsPamela Munn, the former President of the British EducationalResearch Association says: “Children enter the school systemfrom different backgrounds have different experiences ofeducation and leave with very different results. Children fromthe poorest and most disadvantaged homes are most likelyto attend the lowest performing schools and to achieve thepoorest academic outcomes.”In recent years a host of initiatives has been developedfrom early years strategies, Every Child Matters to thedevelopment of academies. Some policies have been macropolicies, targeted at the education system as a whole.Other initiatives have been integrated with other socialcare policies, while a third group have been directed atindividual schools.The British Educational Research Association (BERA) hascarried out research into the effectiveness of interventionsin tackling social inequality. Social Inequality: can schoolsnarrow the gap? is the second publication in their SecondInsight series and undertakes a critical overview of literatureexamining the impact of schools on social inequality.In education the relationship between schools andinequality is usually monitored through test and exams results.Mind theequalitygapwww.teachingtimes.com n Vol 2.3Education Every Child Journal21These provide some interesting findings:On average, white British students, both boys andgirls, are more likely than other ethnic groups tounderachieveChinese and Indian pupils are the most successfulfrom the ethnic minorities and African-Caribbeanpupils the leastPoverty is strongly associated with low attainment,particularly for white British studentsThe impact of inequality strikes early on and accumulatesover time. Children from poor homes are nearly a yearbehind when they start school and two years behind bythe age of 14. These children have a far less positive viewof learning, of school and of themselves.By sixteen, eleven per cent of the poorest socio-economic group are not in education, employment ortraining (NEET) compared with seven per cent overall.For other groups it’s even higher: thirteen per cent ofdisabled young people, 22 per cent of those excludedfrom school, 32 per cent of persistent truants and 74 percent of teenage mothers are NEET. Those most likely tobe excluded from school are young people from Afro-Caribbean heritage, care leavers and those with specialeducational needs.Yet some studies suggest that the type of school,the mix of students, the location of the school and thequality of teaching are as important as the young people’sbackground. Ofsted’s annual reports have consistentlyhighlighted the fact that schools in deprived areas aremore likely to be judged inadequate than those in moreaffluent areas. So the factors, and the measures throughwhich we understand social inequality require somecareful analysis. Poverty and income are linked with lowattainment, but they are not the only factors.Narrowing what gap?In addition to these challenges, there’s a question aboutwhat we want to achieve when we want to talk about‘narrowing the gap’. Should policy be aiming to achievethe same for everyone or fairness? For example, childrenfrom traveller communities who consistently score badlyin exams may find that formal education will not enhancetheir life chances. It means that if we want to achievefairness, then a broader set of measures is needed toreflect the diversity of ambitions and notions of success.The second question we need to ask is why dosome groups do better than others and what canbe done to change this? In fact there is a dearth ofresearch in this field, so although we know that thesegroups have different family environments, come fromdifferent cultural backgrounds and live in differentneighbourhoods, we don’t know much about how andnnnwhy these factors matter or how they impact on children.There is a fundamental question for the governmentwhich is that if they want to tackle social inequality theyneed to be clear about whether they want more equal (iesimilar) outcomes or greater diversity.How policies have tried to reduce socialinequalityThe 2006 OECD study, Social Disadvantage andEducational Experience reported that the impact of socio-economic circumstances on young people’s attainmentwas more marked the UK than in any of the other 52countries surveyed. The OECD argued that educationalpolicies could reduce this inequality by, among otherthings, regulating schools admissions systems anddeveloping the cognitive and non-cognitive skill ofchildren from disadvantaged homes.In the last 20 years in England we have seen attemptsto tackle these inequalities through Every Child Matters,through drives to improve the performance of individualschools and to raise the standards of underachievinggroups. These strategies can be divided up into thefollowing categories:General interventionsThese were favoured by the new Labour governmentand include national"
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Special Needs

ecj_20-24_Education-Mind the equality Gap

7 Jun 2011

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