Labour condemns Conservative inaction on exams as the Party sets out plans to deliver fair grades next summer

Labour has today [Wednesday] condemned the Conservatives’ inaction which sees pupils and teachers returning to their classrooms without knowing how they’ll be examined this year, as the Party sets out its own plan for ensuring students get fair grades next summer.

In July, Labour set 1 September as a deadline for the government to give schools and pupils certainty over how they will be assessed this school year. However, with the Conservatives once again failing to fully provide the clarity that young people need, Labour has set out its own plan for ensuring A-level, BTEC and GCSE exams could go ahead fairly, and a plan B should exams be disrupted for a third year.

This call comes as new analysis shows that students entering their final GCSE year next week have been out of school for a quarter of Year 10, having missed 47 days each on average.

Labour is calling for:

• Adaptations to exams – notice of exam topics to be given to pupils by 1st January, greater question choice and back-up papers for the November and January exam series for pupils who are unwell or isolating;
• A clear Plan B should pupils face further disruption– two standardised assessment points with consistent materials which could be used to award grades if severe further disruption means exams cannot go ahead;
• Small group tutoring and an education recovery premium– implementation of Labour’s Children’s Recovery Plan which would expand small group tutoring to all who need it, introduce free breakfast clubs and extracurricular activities and put qualified mental health support in every school;
• A fair grading system – pegging the 2022 grade distribution, which helps determine the numbers of pupils achieving which grades, to 2020 in recognition that this year’s students will likely be competing with the 2020/21 cohorts for education, employment or training opportunities.

Kate Green MP, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary, commenting said:

"Pupils, parents and schools need certainty, but the Conservatives still have not got a plan in place despite having more than a year to prepare.

“Young people are returning to classrooms this week with no idea how they will be assessed. They are being let down again by a Conservative Government which has shown no care for their futures, providing only a vague consultation for this year’s exams series.

“Labour has today set out a clear plan for exams, just as we have set out a recovery plan which would enable every child to bounce back from the pandemic and reach their potential. The Conservatives must start matching this ambition for children’s learning and their futures.”

Ends

Notes to editors

• The Government and Ofqual has launched a consultation on exams which closed on 1^st August 2021. To date there has been no response:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/proposed-changes-to-the-assessment-of-gcses-as-and-a-levels-in-2022

• Labour’s plan for exams would deliver:

o Adaptations to exams:

• Notice of exam topics to be given to pupils by 1 January. The government has given a wide Spring deadline for notice of exam topics. Labour’s plan would give teachers and learners certainty to allow them to prepare properly over the Spring term;
• Increased optionality in exam papers, meaning increased question choice, so pupils can have confidence they will be tested on content they have covered. This should include English Language and Maths GCSEs, where reduced content may not be a viable option
• Back-up papers for pupils who are unwell or isolating due to Covid-19 on the day of their exam this will be of particular importance for the November exam series for students who want the chance to take papers rather than continue with teacher assessed grades and the January vocational exam series.

o A clear Plan B in case of further severe disruption to teaching, impacting the fairness of the 2022 exams series

• Two standardised assessment points in the Spring term with nationally consistent materials which could be used to award grades if needed;
• Clearly communicated to schools and teachers well in advance

o Small group tutoring and an education recovery premium Implementation of Labour’s Children’s Recovery Plan including:

• Small group tutoring for all who need it
• Free breakfast clubs and activities for every child
• Quality mental health support for children in every school
• Continued professional development for teachers to support pupils to catch up on lost learning, and
• Targeted extra investment from early years to further education to support young people who struggled most with learning in lockdown through an Education Recovery Premium

o A fair grading system

• Pegging the 2022 grade distribution, which help determine the grades pupils receive, to 2020, in recognition that this year’s students will likely be competing with the 2020/21 cohorts for education, employment or training opportunities.
• To revert back to 2019 would unduly penalise 2022 A-level and GCSE students who have already missed substantial amounts of teaching.

• Year 10 pupils have missed an average of 47 days of in-person school

https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak