Initially, thousands of Year 13 students, including myself, were surprised, even relieved, at the announcement. Many students dislike exams and the stress that comes with them. But we knew that an inescapable part of doing A-Levels were the final exams, and getting the grade that gives you a ticket do your dream university.

However, as results day crept closer, it became clear that the cancellation of exams would have an unexpected impact. In particular, as a result of the government decision to apply a computer algorithm to work out final grades, which in many cases gave students grades lower than those predicted by their teachers.

Thousands of students like Sraya Islam, a Year 13 student who studied English Literature, Politics and History who performed well in her AS mock exams, felt that their future was suddenly taken out of their hands. It was a feeling also felt among youngsters awaiting GCSE results.

But an angry alliance of students, teachers and parents, many complaining that social bias in the algorithm favoured young people from better off independent schools, forced the government to think again. They dropped the algorithm and, to widespread relief, agreed to apply the grades predicted by teachers for all students.

The chaos and uncertainty caused by the crisis has now provoked a discussion about the future of the examination system itself.

Rethinking the Role of Exams

Simon Shaw, a teacher who lives in Newham and works in a Comprehensive School in Reading, believes that the cancellation of exams this year provides an opportunity for rethinking the role of exams in the UK’s education system.

He says exams are a ‘ridiculous’ method of assessing students’ abilities. “It is nonsense to assess someone’s ability on a few hours of exams,” he says. “The stakes are too high, and the student is then labelled for life with a grade depending on their performance.”

He also believes exams take the pleasure out of teaching. “It is an absolute privilege to work with young people, however, due to exams teachers have to teach the content to help the student pass the exam, which shows no reflection of passion or curiosity for the subject.”

When exams were cancelled, the Government introduced a temporary grading system in which teachers would use student work, from mock exams to coursework, and their performance during their A-Levels to produce a grade which they believed the student would have achieved had exams taken place. Many students thought this was unfair, but Shaw believes it allowed teachers to accurately reflect students’ achievements.

He says the education system should stop putting numbers on children and giving them a label. He thinks we should look at other countries for new and efficient models. In Finland, for example, there is no standardised testing, bar a voluntary National Matriculation Exam, and all children are measured on an individualised basis and grading system set by their teacher.

Shaw said:

Covid-19 and the cancellation of GCSE and A-Level exams have given us a window of opportunity to reflect on the state of the current UK education system and what needs changing.

He believes teachers themselves must lead the demand for reform. “If change is to come,” he adds, “it must be through the teaching Unions pushing for change.”

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