UK teachers to assess 2021 A-level grades and no algorithm to be used
A-level students will receive teacher-assessed grades this year, and A-level results day will now be on 9 August 2021
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Seeta Bhardwa
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School teachers in the UK will determine grades for A-level and GCSE students this summer, the government has announced.
Education secretary Gavin Williamson stated that teachers will be able to use a range of resources such as mock exams, coursework or other work, including essays and in-class tests, completed as part of a pupil’s course.
Test papers from exam boards will be set in each subject, but these will be optional. The results from these papers, which will be taken in the classroom rather than an exam hall, will not determine a student’s final grade. Students also have the option to sit exams in the autumn if they wish.
No algorithm will be used to determine these grades.
Teachers will submit grades to exam boards by 18 June. Results days for A levels, GCSEs and vocational courses will now be 9 August 2021, earlier than the previous date of 23 August. This will allow students more time to appeal their grades if they wish. The appeals process is expected to be free.
The Department for Education has stated that “every student will have the right to appeal”. The change in date also aims to ensure that “students reliant on those outcomes to achieve their university offer have the best chance of accessing a place”.
Mr Williamson said it was vital that students felt that the system was fair, and exam boards will send guidance to schools on how to conduct these assessments during the spring. Exam boards will randomly check samples, and they will investigate if there are any specific concerns around grading.
In January 2021, it was announced that 2021 A-level and GCSE exams would be scrapped. The exams were cancelled for a second year running because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Last year, students were allocated grades based on an algorithm, with the result that many students were graded unfairly and students at private schools enjoyed an advantage. The algorithm was then abandoned, and teacher-predicted grades were introduced. This change caused some turmoil in university admissions as many students were awarded higher grades than expected.
