Northern Ireland

Fresh exams row brewing over `wasted' AS-level year

Teachers, principals and students are making the case for AS-level grades to count towards A-levels
Teachers, principals and students are making the case for AS-level grades to count towards A-levels Teachers, principals and students are making the case for AS-level grades to count towards A-levels

A fresh exams storm is brewing with pupils and teachers demanding record-breaking AS-levels count towards next year's A-level grades.

Education minister Peter Weir has confirmed that grades earned this summer cannot be carried forward.

Usually, marks can be banked and are worth 40 per cent of the final A-level.

With exams cancelled last year and teachers instead awarding predicted grades, the AS and A-levels were `de-coupled'.

Now teachers, principals and students are making the case for them to be re-instated.

Usually about one in four AS-levels are awarded the top A grade. Last year, based on teacher predictions this jumped to 39.6 per cent.

The youngest of the three main public exam series, AS-levels were introduced 20 years ago to address concerns about the breadth of the curriculum.

A modular approach was introduced under which pupils would take on four subjects. Most carry three on to full A-level.

The AS-level is also a standalone qualification.

Overall A-level outcomes are calculated by an accumulation of marks, which equate to an overall grade.

As the summer 2020 grades were not calculated using marks, it is not possible to use AS grades for A-levels next year.

The Secondary Students' Union of Northern Ireland said a year of work by Year 13s had effectively been ruled inconsequential.

"The minister and CCEA have invalidated the grades they awarded to AS pupils in August by saying they will not have any bearing on an A-level grade," said president Cormac Savage.

"Our current Year 14s have been disadvantaged in comparison to other year groups in Northern Ireland given the minister has removed their ability to select certain A2 modules to repeat.

"There is no parity between this year group and any that have gone before, to 2020 or indeed the current cohort that will complete next year.

"For the minister to argue `portability of qualification' as a reason for the non-inclusion of AS awarding is disingenuous. Northern Ireland A2 qualifications have always included AS weighting; English qualifications do not."

The National Association of Head Teachers said it had advocated strongly that the teacher predicted grades awarded for their AS-levels "must contribute to the overall outcome at A-level".

"This would allow schools to progress with Year 14 students under the supposition the school year will proceed as normal, but with the comfort that examination boards would work with school leaders and subject practitioners to ensure flexibilities and mitigations should local, or province wide, lockdowns materialise," said president Graham Gault.

"Again, the minister has let these students down."

In a letter to principals, Mr Weir said views were mixed on the issue.

"CCEA considered a range of approaches in which the AS grades awarded this year could be recognised as part of the A-level awarding process," he said.

"Whilst such an approach would allow the A-level grade to take explicit account of candidates' learning in Year 13, it is extremely difficult to implement in an equitable or consistent manner. It would also represent a significant divergence in approach from that of other jurisdictions, which again may have far reaching implications for the portability and comparability of our qualifications.

"I have therefore decided that the 2020 AS grades should not form part of the awarding of A-level grades in 2021."

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ANALYSIS

UNDERSTANDING that something is definitely going to happen doesn't mean people are going to like it when it is confirmed.

It has been known since last summer's exams were cancelled that AS-level scores could not be banked.

That was made clear from the off, and re-iterated by the minister recently.

There were some rumblings about fairness at the time and these have grown louder lately.

It may seem hard on pupils heading into their final year that their entire A-level grade is now dependent on papers next summer.

However, almost 40 per cent of the AS-levels based on teacher predictions were awarded the top grade, compared to the quarter or so that would reach such heights in any other year.

Allowing them to carry forward would give them a considerable head start and likely see another year of record A-level results.

Even permitting them to be count would create a headache for examiners.

There were no marks awarded for AS units in the summer, only grades. Final A-levels are made up of an accumulation of marks. It would be almost impossible to combine these grades with future A-level marks to come up with accurate final grades.

Teachers could go back and assign marks for every AS grade awarded in the summer. However, those involved with exams suggest there are too many challenges to make this a reality.

The language used by the minister and by CCEA on this issue is inconsistent.

In a letter to principals, Mr Weir said "some stakeholders" expressed the view that the AS grades should form part of the A-level grades in 2021.

In its summary of consultation responses, CCEA said "a large number" of respondents recommended that AS predicted grades from 2020 should count.

It was agreed that pupils were under immense pressure and that basing their final grades on A-level exam performance would only exacerbate this.

Students reported feeling that the AS year was a waste of time, particularly for those who were actively engaged in online learning.

As the plan is to return to the traditional route of exams next summer, the AS grades might also be considered too inflated.

Teachers will deny that they are but the figures suggest otherwise.

Including these would likely expose a gap between predicted grades and actual exam performance, which would likely raise another row.