Tuesday
GCSEs 2022: Reference test used to measure Covid impact
The National Reference 91¶¶Òõt will explore impact of the pandemic on learning but not yet clear if it will help shape 2022 exam grades
State and private sector attainment gap fell in 2020
Gap in Higher pass rate between private and state schools went down to single figures in 2020 but increased slightly in 2021
Monday
Ignore ‘siren’ calls to abolish GCSEs, Gibb tells DfE
Former schools minister says it would a ‘tragedy’ to abandon government reforms on curriculum or teacher training
New Ofqual chief vows to act in pupils’ best interests
Jo Saxton, the new Ofqual chief regulator, says students will be at the ‘heart of every decision we make’
Friday
GCSEs 2022: Non-white authors on exam syllabus doubled
Move means A level study can include Bernardine Evaristo’s Booker prize winning novel Girl, Woman, Other at A level from September
Exam diet continues to chip away at student wellbeing
Is Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence achieving its aims? Emma Seith investigates
How will Scotland solve its qualifications conundrum?
The disruption caused by Covid has reignited the debate about how Scotland should assess what secondary school students know at the end of their studies, with some favouring external exams and others arguing for greater teacher involvement and coursework. Emma Seith reports
Wednesday
No additional assessments if exams cancelled, vows SQA
Running additional assessments would ‘place excess workload on teachers, lecturers and learners’, SQA says
The assessment bias trap: what the TAGs taught us
What are the most common types of teacher bias? And how can we avoid it impacting judgements in assessments?
