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School pupils will be graded on both internally and externally marked assessments after next summer’s GCSE and A-level exams were scrapped.
Welsh Government’s Education Minister, Kirsty Williams, made the announcement on Wednesday (December 16).
Ms Williams announced the axing of next year’s exams last month, before setting up the Design and Delivery Advisory Group to support “wellbeing, fairness and progression” for pupils.
The group, which is made up of headteachers and college leaders, worked with both Qualifications Wales and WJEC to develop its proposals, which were then presented to the minister.
Ms Williams said the system “ensures that universities can be confident of the abilities of students from Wales through their qualifications, and it also promotes teaching, learning and consistent assessment across Wales as we all struggle to recover in different ways from the impact coronavirus has had on education”.
“I was clear that any solution must be mindful of our learners’ well-being. I am satisfied we have an approach that is fair for all learners whilst minimising disruption to learning and maintaining confidence and trust in the integrity of qualifications in Wales.”
She added: “Alternative options would have required centres to design assessment materials, develop and test marking schemes, and then be responsible for appeals in relation to these.
“This would take time away from teaching and learning and could also lead to inconsistency for learner experiences across Wales.
“I am also confident these plans minimise the impact on teacher workload – teachers and lecturers are already under a great deal of pressure and we do not want to add to this.”
How will grades be determined?
Non-examination assessments
These are currently managed within schools and colleges for many but not all subjects, and WJEC has already made adaptations to these. This will not change.
Internal assessments
There will be a broad window for internal assessment from February 22 to April 23.
Teachers and lecturers will be able to decide when and how to deliver assessments within this window, to embed it within their teaching plans, support the needs and well-being of learners and provide flexibility in case of disruption.
To ensure consistency of assessment experience and to reduce any additional demand on teachers and lecturers – assessment material will be provided from WJEC that schools/ colleges will be able to choose from.
The marking of these assessments will be undertaken by the schools and colleges, supported by guidance from WJEC and shared with WJEC to inform grade outcomes.
Externally set and marked assessments
The extended window for externally set and marked assessment will start on May 17 and end on June 29.
This will provide broad flexibility to enable teachers and lecturers to embed the assessments into teaching time, to be responsive to any disruption, and to support wellbeing.
Teachers and lecturers will decide how and when to deliver these assessments within the classroom so they do not create the pressure and anxiety of exams.
WJEC will provide information about the topics for the internal and external assessment to support teachers in preparing their learners for assessments.
The flexible assessment windows are intended to allow for assessments to be embedded within teaching plans and to minimise disruption to learning so learners develop the skills and knowledge they need to confidently progress.
Source: Welsh Government
Shadow education minister Suzy Davies, who represents the Welsh Conservatives, said the announcement is “in line with what we were expecting and hoping for”.
In summer of this year, exams were cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
However, the grading system introduced to determine pupil’s grades proved controversial, with many pupils and teachers complaining that grades had been lowered.
As a result, Welsh Government scrapped the grading model and instead reverted to giving pupils the grades predicted for them by their teachers.
This also happened in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
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