Teachers to predict grades for cancelled exams
Teachers in England will be asked to assess the grades they believe pupils would have achieved in their GCSE and A-level exams. They will then rank students in their estimated order of achievement within each grade band, for each subject. Schools have been asked to base their decisions on as much evidence as possible. Evidence will include homework, previous exams outcomes and coursework.
Exam boards will then take this information to decide the final results. Paul Whiteman, leader of the National Association of Head Teachers, said there was no "perfect solution" but that plan was "pragmatic and fairest approach to take in these exceptional circumstances". Should pupils feel they have been given grades that are beneath their expectations, then there is a chance that alternative exams in the autumn will be held, but this is yet to be decided.
Exam regulator unveils GCSE and A-Level plans for coronavirus crisis (The Guardian)
How Ofqual plans to calculate summer 2020 grades in lieu of exam results (FE News)
Cancellation of GCSEs, AS and A levels in 2020 (DfE)
Hardware support for disadvantaged students
The department for Education has announced that they intend to support disadvantaged pupils by providing them with technology to assist with remote learning. Trusts such as the AET have said that they will spend around £2 million on Chromebooks alone through fear of some pupils missing out due to lack of technology at home.
The government also have suggested they will assist with connectivity issue also. It has not been announced exactly how the DfE scheme will work, there will be more news on that tomorrow, however it has been made clear that applications must be made at Trust or LA level with individual, parents and pupils being unable to apply for devices themselves.
AET to spend £2m on laptops as others call for tech donations (Schools Week)
Get help with technology for remote education during COVID-19 (GOV)
Resources from Oak National Academy
Despite educational suppliers doing heir very best to provide as much free support for schools as possible, the Department of Education has funded a new online platform called Oak Nation Academy. Over 40 teachers have come together to create video resources and lessons to make with each lesson lasting one hour.
The platform will hope to provide the equivalent of three hours of lessons a day for primary students and four hours for secondary. Teachers can use these resources to complement their own teaching and planning.
Oak National Academy: how to access online school lessons for home learning during the lockdown (I News)