Ofqual has warned against schools over-assessing their students to gather evidence in the event that exams do not go ahead in future.
In draft guidance published today for consultation, the exams regulator said that a “small number” of schools and colleges had created a “large number of new and additional mock exams and assessments in 2023 for the purpose of gathering evidence”.
But Ofqual said that providing mock exams are completed in line with the guidance published today - and set to come into effect from 2024 - one full set of mocks “should be sufficient”.
The regulator warned that if schools did not follow the guidance over the collection of evidence and placed too much emphasis on assessing students, it could have an “adverse effect on some students’ mental well-being”.
Overall, if followed, Ofqual says it expects that the proposed arrangements “will be of some benefit to students’ mental health and well-being”, as they provide clarity.
Ofqual has said that more details would only be provided on the process for “determining, quality assuring and appealing TAGs (teacher assessed grades)” in the event that exams are cancelled.
The regulator has admitted that the guidance could create “one-off, direct costs and administrative burdens associated with the marking and quality assurance of such teacher assessments” as well as cause difficulties for schools with limited space if they have to put a high number of reasonable adjustments in place for students.
The draft guidance proposed today is similar to the advice given to schools for the summer 2023 exams.
The government confirmed in December that schools should collect evidence of student performance that would be used to award grades in case of the “very unlikely” event that exams were cancelled this year.
And the guidance published by Ofqual and the Department for Education at the time stressed that schools were not being asked to “determine TAGs and should not seek to do so”.
In the consultation - due to close in August - the Department for Education has proposed that TAGs would be used in the event that exams cannot go ahead in future years.
The consultation opens on 10 May and will close on 2 August at 11:45pm.
