Here's an update about how your A Level courses will be assessed this year.
Exams:
- The government is firmly committed to GCSE, AS and A level exams going ahead as normal this year; we will ensure that your courses are completed and that you are well prepared to sit these exams as usual.
- Please note that the exam timetables are still provisional at this stage. Do not book any holiday arrangements in June until the timetable is finalised.
- A Level Results day is Thursday 18th August 2022. It is wise to ensure that you are available on that day so that you can take advantage of any help and support you may need with university progression plans.
Exam Adaptations due to Covid:
- The government have already announced some adaptations in some subjects, for example in Art courses and there are some changes to field work and practical requirements. You will have been informed by your teachers of any relevant changes.
- Exam boards have been instructed to release some advance exam information with the aim of helping you to focus your revision effectively. We expect this to happen in February 2022 and will share the information with you when it is available.
- Ofqual has also decided that grades and grade boundaries will recognise that 2022 is a year of transition moving back from teacher assessed grade profiles in 2021 to exam grade profiles of 2019. This means that more students will get high grades in 2022 than in 2019.
Contingency Arrangements…. Just in case!:
- The government are expecting exams to go ahead in 2022, but there is always a possibility that Covid will throw us another surprise.
- In the unlikely event that exams can’t go ahead then their draft proposals are that we would again have teacher assessed grades (TAGs), but they want to ensure that there is more consistency between how different centres set their assessments and they also want to avoid you being assessed multiple times in a very short time-frame.
- It is likely therefore that we will need to collect some evidence earlier in the course and that this will consist of closed-book, unseen, timed assessments (class tests), based on work which you will have been taught. Note that if your course includes NEA (coursework) then this will also form part of any TAG evidence.
- Your subject teacher will tell you if a class test is going to form part of any TAG evidence and will give you time to prepare appropriately – they will tell you the aspects of the content which will be assessed but will not share specific questions. You will receive marks and feedback on these assessments rather than grades and your teacher will need to keep the work to submit to the exam board if requested.
- Ofqual hope that these plans will provide reassurance for you that not every piece of work you do this year will form part of any TAG evidence and these tests will also be good preparation for exams.
I will write to you again as soon as their plans are finalised, but I have asked Programme Leaders to plan for one assessment before Christmas – many subjects would be doing this anyway, so the only real change is that you will know if the assessment could form part of any TAG decision.
Mocks January 2022:
As usual we are planning for a mock assessment week from Wednesday 5th to Tuesday 11th January. This will be a period of study leave but classrooms and studio spaces will also be available to provide quiet spaces to study or to work with the support of teachers. These mocks are essential preparation for your exams in June 2022 but would also form part of the evidence for TAGs if needed.
Chris Sears
Director of A Levels