31 Oct 2022
Recommendations to avoid the issues experienced before, during and after summer 2022.
It is widely agreed that candidates and centres were faced with a series of difficult situations before, during and after the summer 2022 exams series. However, it should also be recognised that whilst these issues are unacceptable, they should also be placed within the context of the impact of the pandemic. Some may seek a simple answer to explain the problems which occurred, but the reality is that a combination of factors must be considered and addressed if we are to ensure that similar difficulties are not faced by candidates and centres before, during and after the summer 2023 exam series.
The outcomes from the 2022 exams officer survey should be analysed when considering the reasons behind many of the issues which occurred during the last academic year and, in particular, before, during and after the summer 2022 exams series. This feedback is also invaluable when highlighting the areas which need to be improved in the coming months, which include:
- Additional support for many exams officers, particularly those new to role
- A requirement for heads of centres/senior leaders to have a thorough knowledge/understanding of the regulations, and to be aware of the significance of the exams officer role
- Improved contingency and succession planning within centres, which will result in improved and more effective support for exams officers who have not previously delivered a summer exams series
- Varying levels of support/performance amongst awarding organisations
- A lack of invigilators was (and remains) the main issue for exams officers and centres in the build up to, and during, the summer 2022 exams series
- An increase in candidate and invigilator malpractice
Following feedback from exams officers (via the survey, training events, online polls and individual feedback), in this article, we detail the areas which each key stakeholder and school/college leaders should be focused upon in the coming months to avoid a repeat of the issues of summer 2022.
Ofqual/Department for Education
The DfE, as policymaker, and Ofqual, as the regulator, must ensure:
- Heads of centres, senior leaders responsible for examinations within centres and teaching staff are aware of their responsibilities. This includes being aware of qualification structures, the information which will be required by awarding bodies, and the deadlines associated with the submission of this information
- The promotion of the importance of the exams officer role with heads of centres/senior leaders to:
- highlight the significance of the role
- help exams officers to acquire information from teaching staff in a timely manner
- ensure that malpractice is addressed and reduced
- Devise strategies to support centres in recruiting invigilators
- To incorporate a training programme amongst trainee teachers/newly qualified teachers to raise awareness of their role in supporting the management and administration of examinations and assessments within their centre
The Joint Council for Qualifications
The JCQ has already taken steps to ensure smoother processes during the 2022/2023 academic year by updating its General Regulations for Approved Centres and Access Arrangements and Reasonable Adjustments publications to include:
- The requirement for an exams officer to be line managed and actively supported by a member of the senior leadership team who has a good working knowledge of the examination system
- The requirement for centres to have in place a Whistleblowing Policy which will encourage the reporting of malpractice, which in turn will reduce instances of malpractice, and reinforce the significance of maintaining integrity within the examination system
- A greater onus upon – and greater support for – the SENCo to ensure that access arrangements are awarded, administered and facilitated in line with the regulations
- Greater clarity on the awarding of access arrangements such as separate invigilation/rooming
The significance of these changes should not be underestimated as they will provide invaluable support for exams officers and SENCos, ensure greater accountability within centres, and place responsibility on senior leaders to be aware of exam regulations before making key decisions.
The JCQ should continue to produce infographics to inform students, teaching staff, senior leaders and exams officers of key processes, regulations and deadlines. JCQ should build upon the excellent infographics which were produced during the 2021/2022 academic year, but also ensure that these are promoted and communicated more effectively to centres.
JCQ should also continue to produce regular blogs which clarify regulations, particularly for those who are new to the exams officer role or to explain the rationale behind the introduction of a new regulation.
Awarding bodies
There are several issues which awarding bodies need to address to ensure a successful summer 2023 exams series. However, that is not to state that awarding bodies are failing in their responsibility to support centres.
The annual survey revealed the following feedback from exams officers in the support and guidance received from the major JCQ awarding bodies:
|
Rating
|
AQA
|
OCR
|
Pearson/
Edexcel
|
WJEC/
Eduqas
|
|
5 stars
|
11%
|
27%
|
18%
|
17%
|
|
4 stars
|
25%
|
46%
|
44%
|
37%
|
|
0 or 1 star
|
27%
|
2%
|
3%
|
4%
|
The data reveals excellent support from OCR and very good support from Pearson/Edexcel and WJEC/Eduqas for exams officers and centres, and whilst there are areas in which AQA must improve, the data should be considered in the context of AQA as the largest GCSE and GCE awarding organisation.
It should also be recognised that during the ‘pandemic years’, awarding bodies had to adapt to Teacher Assessed Grades (TAGs), Centre Assessed Grades (CAGs) and a ‘transitional’ summer 2022 exams series (during which the structure and awarding of vocational qualifications was even more complex than in a ‘business as usual’ year). However, to ensure that candidates and centres do not encounter issues before, during and after the summer 2023 exams series, awarding bodies should:
- Identify and address issues from summer 2022
- Contact all centres where issues occurred during summer 2022 and provide solutions and wider support
- Identify and provide additional support for centres where a new exams officer is in post
- Provide exams officers and senior leaders with the opportunity to engage in face-to-face training, network meetings and webinars
- Utilise opportunities such as The Exams Office National Exams Officer Conferences to meet with exams officers, address their issues and provide information via workshops
- Produce timelines and checklists for teaching staff to follow to ensure that they are providing their exams officer with the correct information in a timely manner – this is particularly significant in relation to vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs)
- Train call centre/telephone staff in JCQ regulations and awarding body processes so the correct information is disseminated
- Provide additional resource to reduce telephone call time responses
- Ensure the effective delivery of confidential materials
- Review and improve online systems/portals, in particular AQA Centre Services, and provide effective user guidance for any centre staff engaging with these systems
Centres
Centres, and teaching staff in particular, must also take responsibility for actions which were not undertaken during and around the summer 2022 exams series and which led to a delay in the calculating of grades and issuing grades to candidates.
There were numerous reports from exams officers of subject teachers failing to submit the necessary information to awarding bodies despite several reminders/requests over several months from awarding bodies. These requests were either ignored or teachers were unaware of what was required by the awarding bodies. Without such information it is impossible for an awarding body to issue a grade.
Heads of departments and teaching staff must be made aware of their responsibilities. They should also have a thorough knowledge of the requirements for each qualification/specification taught so that they are providing their exams officer with the correct and relevant information in a timely manner.
Support organisations
Support organisations (e.g. The Exams Office) have a responsibility to provide additional targeted support for exams officers, particularly those new to role. This may include:
- Training in areas specified as a weakness (e.g. Managing an exam day, Managing restricted release of results day(s), results days and post-results services). This could be delivered via face-to-face or online training events, support materials, videos, animations etc.
- Hosting conferences and training events which provide opportunities for key stakeholders to provide relevant/key information to exams officers and senior leaders. Wherever possible, these events should be made available as widely as possible with access given to all centres regardless of location etc.
- Devising strategies to support centres in recruiting invigilators and resolving other issues from the summer 2022 exam series
- Conducting regular ‘temperature checks’ and acquiring feedback from exams officers to monitor readiness for the summer 2023 exam series
Conclusion
The impact of the pandemic upon examinations should not be underestimated, and therefore, issues should have been expected as we returned to a summer exams series consisting of written timetabled examinations. However, that is of no consolation to those candidates and centres who experienced issues, and it is the responsibility of all stakeholders to ensure that these problems are rectified by the time of the summer 2023 exams series.
It is not correct to apportion ‘blame’ to any one stakeholder or organisation for the issues experienced in recent months as a variety of factors across stakeholders at all levels (including within centres) contributed to unnecessary anxiety for many candidates, teachers and exams officers.
The focus must be on ensuring that these issues are not repeated before, during and after the summer 2023 exams series and that we return to delivering world-leading standards in the management, administration and conducting of examinations.
All stakeholders have a part to play if we are to ensure that candidates and centre staff have confidence in the processes which underpin the integrity of the examination system.