01 Mar 2022
As we embark upon our first summer exams series since 2019, one challenge for centres will be to ensure that their candidates are fully prepared for a prolonged exams period.
Many students have experienced mock/internal examinations over recent years, and although they may be familiar in the conducting of internal assessments, these are markedly different from the more formal written timetabled examinations which they will sit in May and June. Therefore, centres must ensure that their students are adequately prepared for this summer’s exams series – this will involve a centre-wide approach which utilises a range of staff members to disseminate the relevant information.
If we are to avoid instances of malpractice and allow students to perform to their academic potential during this summer’s exams series, it must not be the responsibility of the exams officer alone to inform them of the regulations and expectations of public examinations - there is also a pivotal role to be played by senior leaders, heads of year, heads of department/subject leads and teaching staff.
In this article, we consider the information which must be given to students ahead of the summer exams series, and the ways in which this can be delivered to ensure that it is clearly understood.
Key information
It is a JCQ requirement for centres to share specific information with students prior to an exam series. There is also additional information which must be provided which will help them to understand how their exams will be conducted on each exam day.
JCQ information
The following JCQ documentation/information which must be disseminated to candidates/candidates made aware of ahead of the exams series (see General Regulations for Approved Centres, sections 5.8 & 5.13):
- JCQ Information for candidates documents (coursework, non-examination assessments, on-screen tests, social media and written examinations)
- JCQ Unauthorised items and Warning to candidates posters
- Written complaints and appeals procedure which covers general complaints regarding the centre’s delivery or administration of a qualification
- Accessibility of senior members of centre staff immediately after the publication of results
- Written procedures for dealing with candidates’ requests for post-results services
The relevant Information for candidates documents can be downloaded from the JCQ website, and although this is a task which may be fulfilled by the exams officer, the dissemination and explanation of these documents is more appropriately delivered by a senior leader or head of year. In the case of non-examination assessments and coursework, this responsibility for sharing and explaining this information should rest with the relevant head of department/subject teacher.
To support centres in delivering the Information for candidates for written examinations (as also contained in JCQ’s Instructions for conducting examinations, Appendix 5) in a ‘student-friendly’ manner, The Exams Office has reproduced this information in an animated video - Instructions for Candidates which can be found on the Online Portal.
The written complaints and appeals procedure should ideally be drawn to the attention of candidates (and their parents/carers) by the member of senior leadership who devised the centre’s procedure or has responsibility for examinations and assessments. Likewise, the accessibility of senior members of staff immediately after the publication of results could be confirmed by senior leadership so that the appropriate academic and pastoral advice is available to students on their results day. Senior members of centre staff must be accessible to candidates immediately after the publication of results so that results may be discussed, and decisions made on the submission of reviews of marking. Candidates must be informed of the periods during which centre staff will be available so that they may plan accordingly. (see JCQ Post-Results Services, section 4)
Students must be aware of the content of the two exam room posters - Unauthorised items and Warning to candidates. These should be explained by the exams officer and/or the senior member of staff responsible for examinations, to ensure that students are clear of what is/is not permitted in the exam room.
Other information
There is also further exams-related information which must be shared with students ahead of an exams series. As this is individual student information and details of the day-to-day ‘logistics’ of the conducting of examinations, it is appropriate for the exams officer as the creator of this information to deliver it to students – the exams officer is also the staff member best-placed to answer any subsequent queries.
This information includes:
- Their examination entries and the dates and times of their examinations/assessments
- Relevant centre policies (e.g. Candidate Late Arrival Policy)
- Contingency plans for any disruption to exams
- Exam start times
- What to do if there is a timetable clash
- How seating information will be provided
- Candidate number
- Exam timetable and exam room information
- Identification requirements
- Instructions for personal belongings
- Mobile phone policy
- Exam equipment requirements
- Role of the invigilator
- Malpractice warnings
- What to do in the event of an absence/illness on an exam day
- What to do in the event of an emergency during the examination (e.g. a fire alarm)
- Summer 2022 contingency day, which requires candidates to be available up to and including 29 June
Sharing information
With such a significant amount of information to share with students, each centre will need to devise a strategy which outlines when and how this information will be delivered so that it is clearly understood by the students, and the opportunity for students to ask raise queries if they are unsure of any arrangements or regulations.
It may be appropriate to share information at different times of the academic year, and not solely ahead of the summer exams series.
For example, information relating to non-examination assessments, coursework, social media and written complaints and appeals procedure should be delivered at the start of the qualification as these types of assessments may be attempted at any time during the academic year. If mock/internal examinations are to be conducted in line with JCQ regulations, then this information will need to be shared with students in good time ahead of any mock/internal examinations.
Centres should also note that although results day(s) take place in August, students should be made aware of the information relating to the accessibility of senior members of staff immediately after the publication of results, and written procedures for dealing with candidates’ requests for post-results services before they sit any examinations. This is confirmed in JCQ’s General Regulations for Approved Centres (section 5.13).
As well as a briefing session (e.g. assemblies) led by a member of the senior leadership or head of year and supported by the exams officer, centres should also consider the following methods to share exam information with candidates and answer any questions:
- During class/teaching time – particularly where there is relevant subject-specific information to disseminate to students (e.g. the use of calculators in Maths)
- Hard copy – a Candidate Exams Handbook (see The Exams Office website for a template)
- Electronic – via the school website
- Parents Evening – this may include a short presentation to all parents, written information or signposting to the school website and how and when their child will be informed of the regulations and expectations
As previously highlighted, The Exams Office has produced an animated Instructions for Candidates video which covers the contents of JCQ’s Information for candidates for written examinations as detailed in Appendix 5 of its Instructions for conducting examinations (as well as being available to download from the Information for candidates documents area of the JCQ website) and can be shown during an assembly to the whole cohort or during class/teaching time.
Confirm understanding
Centres should ensure that there is a process in place to confirm that all candidates have received and understood the JCQ information and centre-specific exam guidance – you can utilise The Exams Office Candidate Declaration/Confirmation form template to confirm this and to address any questions which may arise from students or parents/carers from the information provided.
Access arrangements
It is also the responsibility of the relevant member of staff – ideally, the SENCo or an equivalent member of staff within a FE college – to provide students who have been granted an access arrangement/reasonable adjustment with confirmation of this arrangement and how it will be applied during an examination.
Conclusion
There is a significant amount of information which needs to be shared with students prior to an exams series. This is required to protect and ensure that there is integrity and security during the exams series, and that students sit their examinations on a ‘level playing field’ where no student is disadvantaged.
Senior leaders – with the support of their exams officer – need to confirm the information which needs to be disseminated, when and how it will be shared with students, and who will be responsible for ensuring that the relevant information is provided to, and understood by, all students taking examinations.
Although the exams officer may play a significant role in this process, it is the responsibility of the member of senior leadership in charge of examinations within the centre to ensure that a range of methods, as detailed above, and all relevant staff members are utilised in meeting the regulatory requirement of sharing this information with their students.
As we return to the staging of a summer exams series, it is more important than ever to remind students of the regulations and expectations during the conducting of examinations. Anecdotal evidence from mock/internal examinations which have been staged under formal examination conditions in recent months, suggests that there are significant issues with student behaviour during examinations, mainly due to a lack of awareness of the regulations and what constitutes formal examination conditions. Failure to ensure that students are aware of what is/is not permitted during an examination could have serious repercussions for their academic future, and therefore it is imperative that staff throughout the centre are aware of their role in preventing such a situation – and not believing that this is solely the responsibility of the exams officer.