Exam board the WJEC has defended the process to decide this year’s exam grades as teachers, students and parents continue to complain it is unfair again.
The WJEC stressed it was implementing a plan arrived at by the Welsh Government -appointed Design and Delivery Advisory Group, which includes school and college leaders and headteachers.
Among fresh criticism, one high school exam year teacher repeated worries that “the so-called mutant algorithm from last year is being brought in by the back door”.
Last year, there was huge criticism that a computer algorithm was used to determine the grades pupils received and after a massive backlash, pupils were all given the same grades their teachers had recommended.
The WJEC strenuously denied any algorithm was being used this year. It insisted teachers would not be told to alter grades, although they will be asked to provide more evidence if results are more than 3% to 7% different to the three years before 2020.
"There is no algorithm – we would like to reassure learners that grades will be based on the professional judgement of their schools and colleges," the WJEC said.
The teacher, who did not want to be named for fear of reprisals, repeated previous warnings from schools about students being downgraded by standardisation.
The teacher said: “I feel it is important to point out some absolutely horrifying information about the manner in which we have been directed to award grades.
“Schools, overall, are only able to show an increase in any grade bands i.e. A*-A, A*-C, A*-E of 7% of any of the previous 3 years of assessment results.
“For schools that are improving this is enormously hampering our ability to award fair grades - whilst evidence from assessments may show a student is an A, if we’ve had none of those in the past then we cannot award that grade.
“The WJEC have said that whilst they won’t stop a school from going above this, any deviation may result in exam results being withheld until they have had a 'professional conversation' with the school, in short holding the exam results of our students to ransom as I can only imagine how horrifying it would be for a year 13 student to lose out on a university placement because the exam board were withholding grades.
“What is happening in reality is the so-called 'mutant algorithm' from last year is being brought in by the back door as schools are unable to award fair grades to students at any level and teaching staff are being forced to reduce grades based on prior performance - once again demonstrating the complete lack of equity in the education system.”
A level student Anoushka Broughton, 18, from Dinas Powis, who attends Stanwell School in Penarth said: “After months of being told there were exams, we were given exams anyway, just renamed as 'assessments'.
“I cannot see how all schools will have parity of standard, this cannot be regulated. In addition to all this, kids with learning difficulties are left behind as teachers are already overworked as it is,
“It simply wasn’t realistic to offer effective support over Zoom, yet we are still expected to be assessed like many pupils who haven’t missed several months of school time. I don’t envy the people in positions of authority on exams, however I find it difficult to believe that there wasn’t a cleaner way to go about this.”
One parent, who did not want to be named said information had been piecemeal with mixed messages from government and schools.
After covering similar criticisms for several months WalesOnline has put a series of questions to the WJEC. This is the exam board’s response:
How many WJEC GCSEs, AS and A levels are being graded in Wales this year?
34,005 A levels
43,057 AS
327,547 GCSEs (including full and short course)
Who agreed the plans for how final grades are being assessed and who is responsible for implementing them?
Following the cancellation of exams, the former Minister for Education, Kirsty Williams established the Design and Delivery Advisory Group. The group, which consists of school and college leaders, with Qualifications Wales and WJEC providing advisory roles, proposed an approach for grading this year.
The Minister approved the group’s proposals and directed Qualifications Wales to put in place regulatory guidance for WJEC to operationalise these decisions.
What are all the various forms of assessment allowed to be used by teachers to assess learners’ grades?
Schools and colleges can choose evidence from a broad range of sources including adapted past papers, non-examination assessment, centre- devised tasks, and coursework to inform their professional judgement
As this will vary how can you assure learners their final grade won’t rest on one piece of work only?
Schools and colleges will be using their professional judgement in assessing learners based on a range of evidence that best gives an overall picture of their learners’ performance. Therefore, no single piece of evidence will necessarily be more important than another, as grades will be based on a holistic judgement.
How can you fairly compare a student who has spent a lot of time self-isolating and learning from home with another who has spent more time in school attending lessons?
We understand the challenges that students have faced this year, and the flexibility in approach this summer allows for schools and colleges to choose appropriate evidence which takes account the variations in learning experiences of learners.
In all instances, learners will only be assessed on what they have been taught.
How can you judge whether schools are being fair in the methods they are using to assess their pupils?
Schools and colleges, based on guidance provided by WJEC were required to submit a Centre Policy outlining the evidence they would be using to determine grades and their quality assurance processes.
These policies were reviewed by WJEC to ensure all areas of the guidance had been covered. In addition, there will be an external quality assurance process, led by WJEC, to make sure that all processes were followed.
What view does the WJEC take of teachers telling students what assessment questions they will be asked in sat assessments? Is that fair and is that acceptable under the process agreed?
Our guidance to schools provides the flexibility for teachers to inform their learners in advance on the topics that they will be assessed on, however, they should not provide the questions in advance.
A survey last week from the Association of School and College Leaders Cymru shows the wide variety with some putting more weight on using past paper assessments in class under exam-style conditions, others not. How can you assure people this is fair?
The approach to grading this summer allows for a high degree of flexibility, therefore, we anticipated significant variations between schools and colleges with their approach to collecting evidence of learners’ performance.
All centres were required to submit a Centre Policy this year, which outlined their approach to grading, which included internal quality assurance processes. Each application was reviewed and verified by our teams. There is also an external quality assurance process to ensure that this year’s approach is as fair and balanced as possible.
What about cheating? We have heard reports from teachers of teachers in their schools telling pupils what questions they will be asked in sat assessments. Past paper questions are on the WJEC website as well as the answers and mark schemes. Teachers and parents tell us students are learning these by rote. Will results be a genuine reflection of pupils’ achievements if they can know the questions and the answers?
Schools and colleges have a high degree of flexibility to select appropriate evidence to determine their learners’ grades this summer, which at their discretion can be based on a broad range of sources including adapted past papers, centre devised tasks and coursework.
Grades will be determined by schools and colleges to reflect a holistic, fair, reasonable and carefully considered judgement of each learner’s performance across a range of evidence, on the curriculum content that they have been taught.
Is this all about trusting teachers?
The approach to grading this year puts trust in the teaching profession and the professional judgement of schools and colleges.
We have produced guidance and materials to help them grade their learners with confidence. Quality assurance processes also ensure there is rigor in the system, protecting teachers and learners.
Will you change grades and what about standardisation? Some say standardisation is happening by the back door as WJEC will ask schools to look again if results vary from between 3% and 7% on 2017/18/19 results for subjects in their schools.
We have shared guidance with schools and colleges about atypical grades. We are not doing this to see results changed, the guidance is there to add an additional level of rigor and quality assurance to the process. Ultimately, the trust is with the teaching profession and grades will be decided by the professional judgement of schools and colleges.
Will you be asking teachers to change grades if they do vary by between 3 and 7% on those years? Doesn’t this unfairly affect improving schools once again and mean higher achievers in those schools won’t get the highest grades they deserve? Equally, won’t this just advantage schools whose performance is dropping? How can you assure people we aren’t just returning to the “mutant algorithm” of 2020?
There is no algorithm – we would like to reassure learners that grades will be based on the professional judgement of their schools and colleges.
The tolerances do not set a cap on the school’s results, nor do they set targets for them to aim for. They are there to provide transparency about how certain patterns of results could lead to different levels of scrutiny.
They are also intended as an additional way to safeguard the validity and credibility of results for all learners in Wales in summer 2021.
How will appeals work and well will we get a final announcement on that?
Guidance was issued to schools and colleges earlier this week about this year’s three-stage approach to appeals.
Everyone will be working hard to ensure that learners are awarded the grades they deserve this summer. However, if a learner identifies that an error has been made in the determination of their grade, they can ask the school or college to review the decision as part of a ‘centre review’. Following the centre review, the learner can request that their school or college submits an appeal to WJEC on their behalf - full guidance on all three stages is available on Qualifications Wales’ website.
Are you expecting many appeals?
Annually we receive a relatively small number of appeals. There is nothing to suggest that we will receive any more or less appeals this year than in any other year.
What about fees to run exams? Schools say they are doing all the work. Is that a fair comment?
The move to centre determined grades has inevitably placed a level of additional burden on schools, colleges and the teaching profession. Whilst recognising that, WJEC continues to play a pivotal role in the development and delivery of new grading approaches for Summer 2021, responding at pace to both policy and regulatory requirements, supporting the work of the Design and Delivery Advisory Group.
This year, we’ve developed a new and extensive package of support to help schools and colleges assess their learners with confidence, including comprehensive training opportunities, assessment materials, exemplars, and detailed professional guidance.
Our fees not only cover the costs associated with running and delivering summer exams, but also a cycle of continuous support. As a charity, we are committed to re-investing in continuously improving the support, free teaching and learning tools and resources, professional learning opportunities, and qualifications we provide to schools, colleges and learners.
How much are schools being charged for running WJEC exams this year and when will they know how much this has been reduced by?
We can confirm that we will be reducing entry fees to reflect any reduction in costs to WJEC as a result of the cancellation of exams. We will provide schools and colleges with further information in due course.
Some schools say they have not had enough guidance and help from the WJEC. Is that fair? What help have you provided?
To support centres this year, we have provided an extensive package of support, including:
Adapted over 130 qualifications to account for the loss of teaching and learning time
Over 3,000 adapted past papers and mark schemes
Developed over 1,500 new resources including:
Free Knowledge Organisers and Blended Learning modules to help with revision and teaching
Delivered 16 interactive training sessions, which have been viewed more than 15,000 times.
In addition to this support, our subject teams have continued to be on hand to provide subject specific guidance to enable teachers to grade their learners confidently.
Will exams be held next year? What plans are being made for next year’s exams and when will you expect an announcement on that?
Qualifications Wales has already announced that assessment requirements will be adapted for learners studying for GCSE, AS and A levels in summer 2022. This is in recognition of the disruption to learning for students caused by the pandemic. WJEC will consult with teachers and lecturers and will then publish details of the adaptations before the end of the summer term.
Everyone is keen to avoid the outcry and confusion last year when thousands of results were downgraded by a standardising algorithm.. Then Education Minister issues a public apology after doing a u-turn and agreeing results would be awarded on teacher assessed grades.
WalesOnline asked to speak to a member of the Welsh Government's Design and Delivery Advisory Group.
