Two Ofqual reports published today outline student and teacher
experiences of teacher assessed grades (TAGs) in summer 2021.
Summer 2021 exams were cancelled. Students’ grades for GCSEs, AS
and A levels and many vocational qualifications were based on
teacher judgments.
TAGs were based on a range of evidence produced by the students,
and only on content they had been taught.
Ofqual conducted a survey in 2021 after
TAGs were submitted and before students got their results in
August.
A total of 1,785 teaching staff and 550 students completed the
survey. Researchers also
interviewed 39 teachers and 14 students to find out more
about their experiences and opinions.
Among other findings, the survey showed:
- 57% of students said too much time was spent on assessments
- 4 to 6 pieces of evidence were used
- most assessments were taken under exam-like conditions
Different schools and colleges took different approaches to
setting and marking assessments, and deciding on grades. Almost
all teachers thought the grades they determined were accurate.
Students who responded expressed concerns about the pressure they
felt from the assessment process, and the potential for different
schools and colleges to take different approaches.
The majority of teachers who responded told us that the process
was often stressful and time-consuming. They had no desire to
undertake TAGs in this form again.
Ofqual Chief Regulator Dr Jo Saxton said:
We know from our research that teachers worked incredibly hard to
award grades in the exceptional circumstances of summer 2021 and
we are grateful to them. TAGs were necessary to allow more than a
million students to move on with their lives, but our research
highlights the additional burden on teachers and students.
It’s great that exams and formal assessments have taken place
this year, and again, I would like to thank teachers and pay
tribute to the resilience of students.
Another Ofqual report
published today considers statistical alignment between subjects
in GCSEs and A levels in 2021 compared with previous years. This
work is a follow-up to analysis published in summer 2020.
Last year’s TAGs and centre assessment grades (CAGs) in 2020
resulted in higher grades generally. The findings suggest the
relative difficulty of subjects varied a little more between 2021
and 2020 than is typical between normal consecutive years of
exams.
