University chief urges Government to treat students 'fairly' over exams
Disruption pupils have faced must be taken into account, says vice chancellor.
Education chiefs have urged the Government to treat school and college students "fairly and consistently" as part of consultations on this year's GCSE, AS and A-level grades.
As part of the national lockdown restrictions, the Government decided that schools and colleges in England must close to most pupils, to limit the spread of coronavirus.
It was also announced in early January that this year’s exams would be cancelled in line with the position in Scotland and Wales.
Wolverhampton University's Vice-Chancellor, Professor Geoff Layer, said teachers should be able to take other evidence of a student’s performance into account when deciding on the grade to be submitted to the exam board given the scale of disruption to their learning.
It comes after a joint consultation by Ofqual and the Department for Education was launched to hear the views of students who were due to take their exams, as well as their parents and carers, their teachers, school and college leaders, and others who have an interest, including further and higher education providers.
In Wolverhampton University' response to the consultation, Mr Layer said: "The university recognises the enormous pressure the pandemic has placed on young people, and the need to provide certainty to those who would have been sitting exams this year.
"At the University of Wolverhampton, we have always looked at students as individuals, and this was the approach we maintained throughout last summer’s exam results. The university will work with schools and colleges to seek to minimise that uncertainty for our applicants.
“We believe students should be given the best opportunity to shine and not be disadvantaged by the current circumstances.
"In our response to the Ofqual consultation, we have proposed that teachers should be able to take other evidence of a student’s performance into account when deciding on the grade to be submitted to the exam board given the scale of disruption to their learning. This could include formal tests, mock exam results and substantial candidate work.
“We also think teachers should be supported in this process, and have proposed that the exam boards should provide support materials and training to help teachers objectively and consistently assess their students’ performance. We also believe that during the consultation period the exam boards should seek views from their schools and colleges on the support materials and training they would most value."
He added: “External moderation has, in recent years, been shown to unfairly disadvantage some students or schools when benchmarking against previous school, regional and national performance. This could lead to a pronounced negative impact on the performance of students from disadvantaged backgrounds or circumstances.
"It is therefore essential that inequalities are addressed, not only between students but also between schools and colleges and their access to education. This must be the primary focus of external moderation to ensure consistency and fairness for all students.
“Ultimately, our whole ethos is around creating opportunities, enabling students to achieve their potential and enhancing people’s life chances. This has never been more important.”
