Schools minister Robin Walker has told schools they can put evidence gathered for teacher-assessed grades (TAGs) “in a drawer” in order to focus on exam preparation.
There was “no requirement to gather new evidence for TAGs into the next term”, Mr Walker said at a Commons Education Select Committee meeting today.
He added: “If people have a mock exam and they want to use that, they can.
“I want [schools] to focus as much as possible on the exam preparation, the revision and tuition that goes along with that, to make sure pupils are as well placed as possible to take exams.”
The Department for Education and Ofqual issued advice in November stating that, if exams have to be cancelled in summer 2022, students’ grades will instead be determined by their teachers, using TAGs, based on teachers’ assessment of students’ work - similar to the approach used in summer 2021.
Schools have been running mock-style exams since the start of the autumn term to gather evidence for grading.
Mr Walker said today that he understands schools are working hard to ensure they have evidence in case exams are cancelled.
He said: “We want that evidence to be available because we all know from the pandemic so far that you can’t necessarily predict what happens in the future.”
However, he added: “But if they have got sufficient evidence, I want them now to be able to bank that.
“I want them to effectively put that in the drawer and focus on exam preparation, rather than having to gather new information on TAGs.”
In February, Tes reported that Ofqual chief regulator Dr Jo Saxton wrote a letter to heads saying exam contingencies should “help rather than hinder” students’ preparation for GCSE and A-level exams this summer.
She added: “I encourage you to trust your judgement about whether you have sufficient evidence.”
Exam boards have published advanced information to help students focus their studies in some subjects, to take account of disrupted learning due to Covid, without providing the exact questions that will appear in exam papers.
Ofqual has also said that examiners will be asked to be more generous than during pre-pandemic exams when setting grade boundaries to account for disruption.
Tes reported last month that more than 60 per cent of teachers who responded to a Chartered College of Teaching snap poll said the advance revision aid information provided by exam boards will not be enough to help those most negatively affected by Covid disruption over the past two years.
