Results we cannot ignore

Students give the government a U

The UK government has carried out yet another U-turn after push back from students who rightfully protested the grades they were allotted.

Due to Covid19 GCSE, A-Levels and other exams did not take place this year. It was decided students would be given the grades predicted by their teachers. However, governments across the UK decided it would be better to amend these grades based on the performance of the school to avoid grade inflation. To be honest grade inflation in 2020 is the least important thing. These students may have personally lost someone close to them because of COVID and there is also the likelihood the worsening economy will impact their families and their chances of employment. Whichever way we look at it they are already suffering.

In the end, Gavin Williamson and Ofqual apologised to students. They also confirmed GCSE and A-level results in England will be reverted to teacher-assessed grades. The issue now is students have already lost a place in their chosen educational institute due to not meeting the required grades. Even with the revised grades, it may be too late.

An apology is great but this incident has shown there is a bias in the education system, according to The Guardian “Pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds have been worst hit by the controversial standardisation process used to award A-level grades in England this year, while pupils at private schools benefited the most.”

If we looking at other countries we can see there were other options open to the government. For instance, in Germany exams still took place with some additional steps in place to protect the students.

“exams were held — in well-aired classrooms rather than big halls, and with smaller numbers of students sitting at least 1.5 metres apart.” Source: The Guardian

Governments across the globe are dealing with the economic impact of the pandemic by pumping more money into the economy. This will lead to inflation however they are willing to take this risk as it’s a necessary step to keep the economy going. To put it simply if governments are willing to accept the risks of monetary inflation and taking on more debt during this difficult time then they should be able to accept some grade inflation.