What to expect from exams and assessments this summer
As learners get ready for exams and assessments, Kerry Davies from Qualifications Wales explains what to expect.
Next week the annual summer exam and assessment series will begin, where learners will once again get the chance to show what they know and can do and then receive grades that will support them as they embark on their future plans.
Back to normal
This year is slightly different though, because it’s the first summer series, for quite a while, where we expect results for both general (such as GCSEs and A levels) and vocational qualifications to be broadly similar to pre-pandemic outcomes.
Learners are at the heart of our decisions, so over the last couple of years, we have taken a gradual approach to returning to pre-pandemic arrangements. At each point, we’ve considered the needs of learners alongside our responsibility to maintain confidence in the Welsh qualifications system. We believe this is important to safeguard the long-term value of learners’ grades.
Exam process
Exams and assessments provide an equal footing for learners, who will sit them at the same time and under the same conditions as their peers across the nation. Their papers will have been developed and approved by a range of subject and examining experts, and they’ll be marked by examiners who don’t know their names, place of study, or even where they come from in the country.
A sense of fairness gives learners confidence in their grades, as well as ensuring that results have the same value regardless of where in Wales, or even elsewhere in the UK, the assessments were sat. This in turn builds trust in Welsh qualifications and helps learners to make informed decisions about their future.
Qualifications reward learners’ hard work, and colleges, employers, training providers and higher education all use qualifications to support learners in their choices as they prepare for further education, training or employment.
It’s important that everyone has a clear and shared understanding about the value of learners’ grades, and that’s why it’s vital we continue our journey to pre-pandemic assessment arrangements.
Grading process
Each year, we oversee WJEC’s preparations for the awarding process. This is where senior examiners and subject experts consider learners’ performance in an individual subject. It’s where grade boundaries are set, which determine how many marks you need to reach a certain grade. We have particular requirements for WJEC, as they deliver most of the general qualifications that learners in Wales take.
Grade boundaries are not fixed year on year, and there is no set quota for grades. Instead, grade boundaries can change to accommodate factors such as the level of demand of a particular exam paper.
For general qualifications this year, we’ll closely monitor WJEC as they determine grade boundaries. We know that the pandemic has had a long-term impact on learning for some, so there will be some protection to avoid results in individual subjects being well below pre-pandemic years, to provide a safety net, if necessary. Overall, we expect that national results this summer are likely to be lower than they were in 2023.
To inform our monitoring of this summer’s exams and provide information that we can use in future exam series, we want to hear what learners, teachers and lecturers think of the exams and assessments this summer. At the start of May we’ll launch a survey to gather feedback.
We’ve worked closely with other regulators in the UK to align our approach to vocational qualifications, many of which are taken by learners in England and Northern Ireland. Ofqual, the regulator in England, has developed an information hub to support schools and colleges find key dates from all vocational awarding bodies in one place. Additional checks will also make sure that learners expecting a result in summer 2024 will receive their results on or before the equivalent GCSE or A level results day to support their progression.
Whether learners are taking general qualifications, vocational qualifications, or both, there is a range of further support available. Schools and colleges are always the first point of contact for any questions. Awarding bodies also offer a range of support and resources, and the Welsh Government provide the ‘Power Up’ content hub. At Qualifications Wales, we keep our website up to date with the latest information and have designed a learner guide with key information for learners in Wales.
From all of us at Qualifications Wales, I’d like to wish each learner in Wales taking qualifications this summer the very best. Pob lwc!