So apparently @GavinWilliamson wants exams back to normal next year. On #r4today he avoided any discussion of an inquiry into what might be most appropriate for pupils.

Continuing blindly back into the old ways seems to me to be a disaster. /1

In a normal year, kids are effectively rank ordered as part of the examining process. This rank ordering gives us grades by applying the normal curve.

This whole process assumes all kids have had a roughly similar opportunity to study specification content /2

This is already a problem in a normal year:
* experienced teachers will gen cover spec better
* some schs have better resources
* some schs do GCSE for 3 years
* some kids get ill or otherwise miss time /3

We already know that there is a good correlation between time spent in school and final exam results. @educationgovuk said in 2016 that pupils with no absence are 2.8x more likely to get 5A*-C EM than those missing 15-20% KS4 /4

In 2021 this could potentially be a disaster. Govt are suggesting no blanket school closures, but have. It ruled out individual school closures or rotas. Kids in these schools will automatically be disadvantaged in any exam rank ordering though no fault of their own /5

The use of norm referenced examinations when equal conditions cannot be guaranteed for thousands of pupils has the potential for gross unfairness yet again.

Potentially thousands of students will miss chunks of school and be compared with pupils who missed next to none. /6

We need to be seeking better solutions to examination. There are many options but @GavinWilliamson needs to start with asking the right questions.

Our exam system was not fit for purpose anyway. It is woefully inadequate for the world of Covid-19. http://www.andallthat.co.uk/blog/dealing-with-the-disease-the-urgent-need-for-exam-reform