The government has been forced into a major policy U-turn, meaning that pupils throughout the UK will now have their grades awarded based on the recommendations of their teachers. The move comes after an outpouring of anger over the decision to use an algorithm to determine grades that led to almost 40% of predicted results being downgraded.
How will the new grades be calculated?
As part of the original process, teachers were asked to put together a set of predicted grades that were fed into the Ofqual system to produce the much-maligned algorithmic results sent out last week.
The Department for Education said they took into account the “full range of available evidence when they graded students – including non-exam assessment; the results of any homework assignments or mock exams; and any other existing records of student performance over the course of study”.
It was the downgrading of so many of those “centre-assessed grades” by a system that took more account of a school’s past results that caused the furore. Ministers have now said they will revert to using them.