Commenting on Ofqual’s evidence to the House of Commons Education
Select Committee regarding the awarding of grades this summer,
Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the Association of School and
College Leaders, said:
“Ofqual’s evidence is that there was nothing wrong with the
algorithm used in the standardisation process, but the
fundamental mistake was believing a statistical approach to
awarding grades would be acceptable to the public, and that the
government knew the risks all along.
“We look forward to the government’s response, and how this
squares with the Prime Minister’s recent statement that a ‘mutant
algorithm’ was to blame for the grading fiasco.
“More importantly, we now need to focus on next year’s exams.
“While the government plans for a full exam series, we may once
again be in a position where at least some students are either
unable to take exams or experience significant disruption in
their preparation because of the impact of coronavirus and
associated restrictions.
“We note with concern Ofqual’s position that this situation can
be addressed through additional papers and online tests, and that
it has sufficient time to work out a solution.
“This sounds very difficult to manage at any scale, and it would
surely be prudent to have a contingency plan in place based on
some form of assessment in the autumn and spring term which could
be used to reliably inform grades in the event that students are
unable to sit exams.
“We are very concerned that there is no such back-up plan, and
that time is fast slipping away in which to put such a strategy
in place.”
