This year’s summer exam series in England, including A levels, GCSEs and other qualifications, and all primary assessments, have been cancelled. For the full statement click here www.gov.uk

​

"The exam regulator, Ofqual, and exam boards will work with teachers to provide grades to students whose exams have been cancelled this summer, following our actions to slow the spread of coronavirus..."  Latest information about how grades will be calculated

​

​

​

 

See here for information for Wales from www.qualificationswales.org
See here for information for Scotland from www.sqa.org.uk​

​

BTEC - Ofqal have released advice telling exam boards that they expect BTEC grades to be awarded in the same way as A level and GCSEs. See here for the document on vocational and technical qualifications. www.gov.uk 

 

Pearson believe that the continuous assessment nature of the BTEC means that the awarding of grades will be relatively straightforward. There are no details yet how this will be achieved since Ofqal directives only were released on 9th April.

​

"For our BTEC vocational qualifications, we feel confident we can award grades for students finishing this academic year by working closely with teachers to collate completed student grades, taking into account student progress on assignments and course work to date and by sampling and verifying student work." For the full statement by www.pearson.com

​

International Baccalaureate - They have 200,000 students around the world and decided on 22nd March to cancel their 2020 exams. They have not decided how to generate grades yet. They have asked schools to send all student subject internal assessment documents for external marking along with predicted grades. normally only a selection of internal assessments are sent for moderation but this year every student piece will be marked by external examiners for standardisation.

​

If students would prefer to sit their exams then the November exam session is presently expected to take place. For the full statement by www.ibo.org

​

International GCSEs and A levels - CIE  and Pearson have students both in the UK and beyond. They have decided to cancel all their exams in every country for 2020. CIE will use a similar method to calculate grades as released this month by UK's Ofqal. 

​

See here for CIE's grade awarding methodology: www.cambridgeinternational.org

​

UCAT - the specialist medical school exam, "We are conscious that schools and colleges in the UK and elsewhere are currently closed.  We do not want to make firm decisions about 2020 testing until we have confidence that the UK’s education system is returning to normal.  It is important that our candidates have the support of their teachers and advisors when making decisions about and preparing to take the UCAT." See here for the full statement by www.ucat.as.uk

​

BMAT, TSA, NAT and ELAT - "We do not expect the COVID-19 outbreak to disrupt the running of these tests." See here for the full statement by www.admissionstesting.org

​

SAT exams - The May and June sessions have been cancelled but they are hopeful that monthly school based testing for US based students will commence from August (There is litle news about international students). If schools are still closed in the Fall, (Autumn) then they may add an 'at home' test in a similar way to the AP exams. See here for the full statement by www.collegeboard.org

​

ACT - "ACT has rescheduled its 3 and 4 April international test dates to 12 and 13 June in response to concerns about the spread of the coronavirus." they will keep reviewing the situation as the June dates approach. See here for the full statement by www.global.act.org

​

AP exams - there has been a creative response for the AP sessions which have been lost. "For the 2019–20 exam administration only, students can take a 45-minute online free-response exam at home. Educator-led development committees are currently selecting the exam questions that will be administered." Full details should be released by 3rd April. See here for the full statement by www.collegeboard.org

​

A Level & BTEC Exam Grades for 2020

 

Ofqal have released how A level & GCSE and BTEC grades will be awarded for 2020.

 

"We are asking schools and colleges to use their professional experience to make a fair and objective judgement of the grade they believe a student would have achieved had they sat their exams this year. It is important that schools and colleges take into account the full range of available evidence when they grade students - including non-exam assessment; the results of any homework assignments or mock exams; and any other records of student performance over the course of study.

 

We are also asking schools and colleges to provide a rank order of students within each grade. This is because the statistical standardisation process will need more granular information than the grade alone.

We have provided clear guidance to schools and colleges on the grading and rank ordering process to help staff in different schools and colleges take a common approach to assessing their students.All university applicants should have received an email from  UK universities and UCAS."

​

See here for the full Ofqal guidance: www.gov.uk

 

Separate information has been published for Wales and Scotland...

​

The Government has said its aim is provide these calculated grades before the end of July and there will be an option to sit an exam later if you do not feel your grades reflect your performance. "

​

See here for the full statement see www.universitiesuk.ac.uk

​

​

​

I will try and keep this information as up to date as possible. If you have any questions then please email me: richard@judduniversityguidance.com.

​