Newsflash - Update and Guidance on Centre Assessed Grades

Update and Guidance on Centre Assessed Grades

What this recent guidance means for your school

1. There is potential for requests for the above information from students who are unhappy with their grading.
2. Students can only ask for this information on or after results day. If they make a request prior to this date then (a) do not provide them with the data as this could constitute malpractice and (b) revert to us for advice and assistance on how to handle this request.
3. Students are able to appeal against their final results. There is due to be a document being circulated this week by Ofqual detailing student’s options if they are not happy with their results (including options for appeals and sitting exams in the Autumn). You may wish to review this guidance note once released to ensure consistency with this newsflash. 
4. Students cannot appeal against the CAG or rank order but they can challenge the school about this data if they have concerns about bias, discrimination or any other factor which suggests the school did not behave with care or integrity when determining this data.
5. There are numerous options available to you as to disclosing CAGs, rank order and supporting documentation. The main point is that there is currently no requirement to provide this detail to students unless they request it.
6. We have provided some guidance below on our suggested approach which is to only provide this data to students on request but to make clear their ability to request this data in advance of results day. This is only a recommendation and you could determine that an alternative approach would be preferable.

Guidance and suggested approach

• Ensure requests are received by students only. Parents can make requests but only with permission of the student.
• Whilst you can release CAGs to students without being prompted, we would not recommend doing this. It is likely to pose further questions and therefore require more staffing time handling those questions.
• We also would not recommend releasing CAGs on the same day as their final grading. This is likely to cause confusion if two different gradings are in circulation.
• Be up front with students as to their options. It is important for students to be aware that they can request this data. We have prepared a form of wording which you can tailor and send to your students below.
• We have suggested that concerns and requests are dealt with informally in the first instance, possibly with an option to hold informal discussion with students who either express concern or make a request. We have provided for this option in the communication below but this is optional. This option would give the student opportunity to discuss alternative options, for you to provide them with support and get clarity on any data they may require.
• You do not have to formalise every request to be a Subject Access Request and provided the request is straightforward, you could provide the data they are asking for without needing to formalise it. This will save time having to prepare an acknowledgement, considering search criteria and providing a covering letter with your response. This will depend on the complexity of the data requested. For example if a student just asks for CAG and/or rank order then this can just be provided (but please note our advice above about rank order) whilst if they ask for supporting documentation you may want to take time to consider what to provide the student and treat it as a subject access request.
• Have an internal point of contact for making requests. This will make it easier when dealing with straightforward requests (like a request for a CAG). If you do need to clarify whether to treat a request as a Subject Access Request, do contact us and we will be able to advise you further.
• If students are not happy to resolve the matter informally with the school they can send any request to Judicium (if they are making a data request) or can appeal to the exam board.
• If you do receive a number of informal requests for CAGs, we would suggest keeping a record of who has made the request, the date of the request, the date of response and what has been provided. This is in case those matters get escalated to the ICO or exam board.
• There is no requirement to have a policy in place (as this is a one-off unique circumstance). However setting out the procedure to students (as set out below) can help ensure a smoother handling of requests following results day

Communication to send to students

This form of communication can be adapted (for example if you want to detail procedures for students attending the school on results day within the same communication). The text in blue is optional and can be removed if you do not wish to keep it. You could also consider supplying a link to the guidance document Ofqual supply students when it is released later this week.

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With results day fast approaching, we felt it would be useful to communicate our school’s approach to reaching your final grades and the options available to you following results day.

Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, it was not possible for examinations to take place this year. As an alternative, final grades were determined by the following process: -

1. Schools and colleges were asked to provide assessed grades for each student. These grades were quality assured to ensure fairness and were our best assessment of what you would have achieved if you had taken exams;
2. Schools and colleges were also required to submit a rank order of students in each subject by grading;
3. The exam boards have then reviewed the gradings and rank order provided by the school or college using a “standardisation model”. This is so that grades awarded this year are consistent with those awarded in other years at a national level. This could mean that the gradings submitted by us are not the same as the final grading issued to you;
4. This process is aimed at ensuring fairness and consistency between students in different years and in different schools and colleges so that it does not result in more students nationally being awarded higher grades this year when compared to cohorts in previous years; and
5. An overview of this process can be found HERE. 

We understand that this process may feel confusing and unfair to you. Please rest assured that we as a school are there to support you and that our staff have approached the task of assessing grades as diligently as possible. The final grades provided are done so by the exam boards and form part of a process aimed to ensure consistency and fairness nationally.

We wanted to make you aware of the options you have available for support and assistance: 

• The National Careers Service have set an exam results helpline during August. Students or their parents can contact the helpline on 0800 100 900 to speak to a professionally qualified careers adviser if they need advice on their next steps. The helpline will be open from 8am to 10pm from Thursday 13 August until Friday 28 August.
• After these dates, students will be able to access ongoing support from the National Careers Service at any time by calling 0800 100 900, visiting nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/contact-us or searching for the National Careers Service on Facebook and Twitter.
• If you would like further information or support from us we would suggest contacting [NAME OF INTERNAL CONTACT AT THE SCHOOL] in the first instance and we can potentially arrange a convenient time to speak with you.
• You can request the grade we submitted to the exam board. If you would like to see this please do contact [NAME OF INTERNAL CONTACT AT THE SCHOOL].
• You can also request rank order – however please note that we may be unable to supply this detail to you if submitting this detail would inadvertently disclose the data of another student. You can request this by contacting [NAME OF INTERNAL CONTACT AT THE SCHOOL].
• If you wish to make a Subject Access Request for additional data relating to you, you can make this request in writing to our Data Protection Officers at Judicium. This can be emailed to dataservices@judicium.com.
• You can also appeal against the final grading produced. Full details of this process [will follow once released by the exam board OR can be found at [DETAILS]].

Finally, we want to wish you all the best of luck with your results this year and thank you for your hard work and patience in these challenging times.