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Gavin Williamson’s plan to leave exam grading up to teachers could create a ‘wild west’ system that is open to abuse, education experts have warned.
The Education Secretary confirmed yesterday that, with exams cancelled for a second year in a row, teachers will decide who gets what for their GCSEs and A-Levels.
Last year an algorithm was used to standardise results across schools but this led to many pupils being unfairly down-graded.
In the absence of any such system this year, retired headteacher Chris McGovern, who now chairs the Campaign for Real Education, told MailOnline results are likely to go up across the board.
He said: ‘The system of teacher-predicted grades is certainly wide open to abuse. It is equivalent to asking a football manager to predict his or her results.
‘Research from London University has shown that the accuracy of A-Level predictions is under 20%. The examination currency is being undermined and is in danger being downgraded to junk status by employers’.
He added: ‘As prime minister, David Cameron told his party conference that we have the worst rate of social mobility in the developed world.
‘It is about to get worse. The poor and underprivileged will suffer the most and, so, the Wild West is an apt analogy’.
Teacher’s Unions have broadly welcomed the proposals but criticsed the late timing of the announcement, given the country is already halfway through the school year.
Dr Mary Bousted, the joint general secretary of the National Education Union, said the Government’s plan was the ‘least worst option available’.
But she’s called on ministers to ensure the extra pressures of having to determine pupils’ grades doesn’t add to an already high workload.
She said: ‘It is helpful that Government has listened to the consensus amongst the profession and this process gives students the best chance at grades which are as fair and consistent as possible in the circumstances: the NEU and its members will undoubtedly do everything they can now to make it work.
‘However, there are still question marks over how it is expected that the extra work necessary to facilitate grading will be dealt with.
‘Substantial time will need to be set aside for the initial assessments and gradings and then the internal school moderation processes; it may well be that extra staff need to be employed to release teachers for this important work.’
Speaking in the Commons yesterday, Mr Williamson insisted exam boards will carry out checks to ‘root out malpractice’
He said: ‘Ultimately, this summer’s assessments will ensure fair routes to the next stages of education or the start of their career. That is our overall aim.’
Conservative MP Robert Halfon, who chairs the Commons Education Committee, asked how ministers will ensure there will not be a ‘wild west of grading’ this summer.
The senior Tory called on ministers to set out a plan for ensuring grades are ‘meaningful’ to employers so they do not ‘damage children’s life chances’.
Mr Williamson said grade inflation was an ‘important issue’ but it was being addressed through internal and external checks.
It comes after the Education Policy Institute (EPI) think tank warned the latest plans could cause ‘extremely high grade inflation’.
EPI chief executive Natalie Perera said: ‘Without timely and detailed guidance for schools on how this year’s grades should be benchmarked against previous years, and with classroom assessments only being optional, there is a significant risk that schools will take very different approaches to grading.
‘This could result in large numbers of pupils appealing their grades this year or extremely high grade inflation, which could be of little value to colleges, universities, employers and young people themselves.’
Under the plans outlined by Mr Williamson, schools will be given wide flexibility in deciding how teachers assess and grade pupils, based on the parts of the curriculum they have been taught.
Results will be published earlier than usual, with A-level grades issued on August 10 and GCSE students receiving their results two days later.
The move is expected to allow more time for pupils unhappy with their grades – particularly A-level students looking to secure university places – to submit appeals.
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