There is an “expectation” that exam aids in some GCSE subjects - which were used this summer to acknowledge pandemic disruption to learning - will not be offered to students next year, the schools minister has said.
Nick Gibb also said that exam results in England need to return to pre-pandemic levels this year to ensure GCSE and A levels carry “weight and credibility” with employers, universities and colleges.
His comments come after Covid-19 led to an increase in top GCSE, AS and A-level grades in 2020 and 2021, with results based on teacher assessments instead of exams.
This summer, GCSE students in England who took maths, physics and combined science were given formulae and equation sheets in exams to mitigate the potential loss of learning during Covid-19.
When asked by the Press Association (PA) whether the exam aids will no longer be offered to students in England next year, Mr Gibb said that “that will be the expectation” but the final decision will be taken “in due course”.
He added that the exam aids were intended as “a temporary expedient” for this year.
“The grading is back to 2019 levels and we expect the system to be back fully in the following year,” the minister said.
England’s exams regulator Ofqual has said this year’s national results will be lower than last year’s, but they are expected to be similar to those before the pandemic.
Mr Gibb said: “It is important to get back to normal because we want these qualifications to continue to carry the weight and credibility both with employers and with universities and colleges that they need to have.”
But Mr Gibb added that there will be an “additional protection” this year where grade boundaries will be altered if senior examiners find evidence nationally of a drop in standards compared with 2019.
He told PA: “A typical student in 2019 - given the same level of ability, the same level of diligence - the likelihood is that same student would get the same grades in 2023 as they would have done in 2019.”
Dr Jo Saxton, chief regulator of Ofqual, said: “With 16 million GCSE, AS and A-level scripts now in the final stages of marking, nationally, we are expecting results to be similar to before the pandemic.
“Grade protections have been built in to reflect that performance is likely to be a little weaker because of the disruption that students experienced.”
Sarah Hannafin, head of policy for the NAHT school leaders’ union, said: “A narrow focus on returning to pre-pandemic levels misses opportunities to reflect, review and improve on what we had before.”
The NAHT believes the formulae sheets for GCSE maths and the equation sheets for GCSE physics and combined science “should be kept in place for future exam series”, she added.
On possible plans to remove exam aids for students, Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “While we understand the appetite to fully return to normal from next year onwards, there are many future exam cohorts that have had part of their education disrupted by the pandemic and it’s important this is recognised when making decisions in future years.”
England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland offered different levels of support to students who took exams this year, and the approaches to grading this year are set to vary.
In both Wales and Northern Ireland, exam regulators have said they do not plan to return to pre-pandemic grading until 2024.
