Economy Minister Diane Dodds has set out the arrangements for how vocational qualifications and Essential Skills will be awarded this academic year.
In January the Minister announced the cancellation of examinations for relevant qualifications and instructed CCEA Regulation to ensure that awarding organisations put in place suitable alternative awarding arrangements that are reflective of this year’s particular circumstances.
Minister Dodds says it is important to recognise the ongoing and significant disruption to teaching and learning.
“For those vocational qualifications that are most like GCSEs, AS and A levels – such as BTecs and Cambridge Nationals and Technicals, teacher judgement will play a central role in determining the results, based upon a variety of evidence, including performance of tasks or assessments that have already been completed,” she added.
“I would like to explore the possibility of providing externally set tasks or papers, in order that teachers can draw on this resource to support their assessments of students,” Williamson said.
In recognition of last year’s debacle, with waves of protests from schools and parents over unfair grade allocations, Williamson added: “We have agreed that we will not use an algorithm to set or automatically standardise anyone’s grade.”
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, which represents many secondary headteachers, said: “One of the key issues, however, will be precisely how any system of externally set assessment would work and how this can be done in a way that ensures fairness for students who have been heavily disrupted by the pandemic.”
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Thousands of GCSE and A-level students across North Staffordshire are to be awarded grades based on teacher assessments rather than exams.