The COVID-19 pandemic will leave many lasting marks. For teachers, one of the abiding memories has to be the calculation of Centre Assessed Grades (CAGs) in 2020 and Teacher Assessed Grades (TAGs) in 2021.
For most in the UK, this was the first foray into a system of teacher judgements being used as a basis for awarding final grades. The spike in top grades understandably provoked a retrenchment for some to a very conservative place when it comes to assessment: 'Don’t trust teachers – look what happened when we had to. It was a disaster.'
But it has got many others wondering if other forms of assessment could work – and whether teacher judgements could form part of a more holistic picture of student achievement.
At Bedales, we have made use of teacher judgements for our own qualifications since 2005, when we took the step to devise Bedales Assessed Courses (BACs), which replace most GCSEs in our curriculum. Until now, students have sat a core of around 5 GCSEs in English, Maths, Science and Modern Foreign Languages. They then select four or five BACs for their remaining subjects. In coming years, Science and Modern Foreign Languages will also be coming into the BAC fold and we will retain only English and Maths at GCSE.
Bedales uses university-style assessment procedures, with assessments being set and assessed internally, internally moderated and then finally externally moderated, with the moderators’ decisions being final. This combination of teacher judgements and external checks and balances has been powerful in allowing Bedales to assess a broader range of skills and capture a fuller picture of student progress than is possible in a system so wedded to high-stakes terminal assessments. Students go on to a programme of A Levels and can list their BACs along with their GCSEs on their UCAS applications.