Educational Assessments — House of Commons, 2022-03-17
Topic: Education
Robin Caspar Walker (Conservative, Centre-right): That training can of course include the workplace, such as through apprenticeships and the vocational route, so I have to disagree fundamentally. It is important that young people have those opportunities to continue studying in school or, for those who are not suited to school, to go on to a vocational route to pursue further study and development of their careers in the workplace We know that half of students change institution at the age of 16, and it is because they have a shared and recognised qualification that they can transition easily post-16. GCSEs equip students to move directly into employment or apprenticeships at that age with a qualification in hand. GCSEs are long-standing, credible and well respected. At the same time, as I mentioned, we have worked with higher education providers and employers to reform A-levels to ensure that they better meet the needs of higher education. That includes decoupling the AS-level to reduce the assessment burden and enable A-level students to spend more time learning and developing their depth of understanding of subjects. Reformed GCSEs support reformed A-levels, and reformed A-levels support higher graduation rates in three-year degrees from our internationally recognised universities, with four British universities currently in the top 10 globally and 17 in the top 100 I turn to vocational and technical qualifications, which we all recognise are important. From our reforms to the way in which grades have been awarded in the context of the covid-19 pandemic, we have sought to ensure parity between those receiving vocational and technical qualifications and those receiving GCSEs and AS and A-levels. As I mentioned, the new T-levels have been developed in collaboration with employers so that students can get the specific training, knowledge and skills required for their chosen career. Not only that: they include a nine-week high quality placement in a relevant industry, giving students first-hand experience of work during their studies Alongside the introduction of our T-levels, we are streamlining and strengthening the quality of all other post-16 qualifications at level 3, making the system easier to navigate and more responsive to employers’ needs. The changes that we are making will give students a clear route map to the high-quality technical and academic choices available—choices that they can trust to lead to rewarding careers My hon. Friend mentioned the role of UTCs. The Government are committed to providing young people with technical skills and knowledge to progress into further and higher education, apprenticeships and employment. Indeed, strong university technical colleges such as the outstanding UTC in Portsmouth to which she referred are succeeding in equipping their students with those vital skills I turn to the immediate arrangements for qualifications. We recognise that students taking exams this year will have experienced disruption caused by the covid pandemic, so we have rightly worked closely with Ofqual to put in place a package of measures to recognise that. The measures will include unprecedented support to ensure that students can fairly demonstrate what they know and can do. They offer the right balance to account for the disruption students faced while providing students, teachers, schools and colleges with the consistency and independence of assessment and familiarity that exams deliver. The package of measures this year includes advance information on the focus of exams in most subjects for GCSE and AS and A-level students; a choice of topic or content in some GCSE exams where advance information is not provided; exam aids for use during some GCSE exams; and a range of adaptations for students taking vocational and technical qualifications depending on the purpose of the qualification In balancing public confidence in qualifications with fairness, Ofqual has also confirmed that 2022 will be a transition year to reflect the fact that we are in a pandemic recovery period and that students’ education has been disrupted. In 2022, the aim will be for grades to reflect a midway point between 2021 and 2019, with national results likely to be higher than pre-pandemic levels, providing a safety net for those of this year’s students who might otherwise have missed out on a grade. We are confident that those measures, alongside the direct investment of nearly £5 billion in education recovery, provide a pathway for a successful return to normal exams and assessments in the academic year 2022-23 My hon. Friend rightly mentioned the importance of mental health. Exams and other assessments are an essential part of ensuring that young people have acquired the knowledge and skills that they need to study. The Government are clear that education providers should encourage pupils and students to work hard, but not at the expense of their wellbeing. I recognise that exams, like other things in life including job interviews, moving house or having a first child, are by their nature stressful, but when pupils receive the right support, many find the level of stress from exams manageable—and actually a certain level of stress can be a motivating factor. Schools and colleges should be able to identify signs of exam-related stress whenever they emerge and be in a position to respond appropriately Research shows that there is a clear difference between exam stress, which is not necessarily a bad thing, and anxiety, which is a cause for concern. Clearly, we do not want young people to be in a situation where pressure tips over into mental health problems. That is why we have provided schools with a wide range of training and resources to help them support pupils and students’ wellbeing. Our recent £15 million wellbeing for education recovery and wellbeing for education return programmes have provided free expert training, support and resources for education staff, helping to promote and support the wellbeing and mental health of pupils and students as they recover from the impacts of the covid pandemic. Ofqual has also issued guidance on coping with exam pressure. The information provides some techniques that students can use to help to alleviate or lessen anxiety they might have about exams, and it can be accessed through Ofqual’s website My hon. Friend mentioned primary assessments. We think it is vital that primary assessments go forward this year, not least because we want to ensure that that data is available to look at the impact on learning from the pandemic and that we can work across the system. However, I can confirm to her that we will not be publishing comparative data between schools this year, which I know has been a concern for the sector. Recognising that school tests and assessments will be returning for the first time since 2019 without the adaptations we have in secondary, the results will not be published in league tables.