As we approach the exam period again, many memories from the past year have arisen and people are starting to get anxious as they prepare for what was meant to be their 'national exams’. As all students who went through the procedure last year will know, these GCSE’s along with A levels have been extremely distressing for many and one can only imagine when the next proper exams will occur.
The pandemic being unavoidable means that everything concerning social lives and to do with people will be affected, just on different levels of severity. With education being of increasing significance worldwide, schools and universities have taken quite a large blow, which have meant that maximum precautions and a change in daily routine have had to have take place. During the exam period especially, students have been progressively growing more anxious to find out what plans their school have had in plan for them, other than the government instructions to use teacher assessments for grading GCSE’s and A levels. This is due to the schools dealing with these sudden changes in a variety of different ways; some schools decided to make their students take assessments on which their final grades will be based on although indefinitely, whilst others decided to strictly follow government rules so that scores are completely based on teacher assessments.
Some speculation has been spreading around about wether these methods of testing students’ capabilities whilst keeping to COVID-19 rules are effective, and if they are going to improve the accuracy of the final results from last year where many students were dissatisfied due to a flaw in the computer programs. This is due to having teachers make the final decision of the students’ marks can create unconscious bias as well as inconsistency in marking. There are also problems concerning how much the students have actually learnt, as disruptions from lockdown have affected the rates of learning as well as the topics covered from the curriculum. However on the other hand, it is less likely that professional teachers will let their preferences get in the way of handing out the deserved grades and the new system means that slight changes in the assessing can be made accordingly.
Although the grading system for these national exams has changed since last year following the situation of the pandemic ameliorating, it is still unclear wether they will provide results accurately, as well as how long it will be until students can take exams normally without wearing face masks or having to social distance.
