The education minister in Wales recently announced the decision to cancel GCSE and A-Level examinations this summer, leading to the underlying question of whether England should also cancel their exams.
On November 10th the Welsh Education Minister announced that GCSE and A-level exams will be cancelled across Wales and as a replacement students’ grades will be awarded using teacher led assessments. The declaration followed Scotland’s announcement cancelling the Scottish equivalent of GCSEs.
Many students in England will now be questioning whether their exams will be cancelled or go ahead as planned. I asked a local secondary school student what she thought of the situation and she said, “I feel sorry for everybody in years 11 and 13, they shouldn’t have to be the only ones sitting the exams.”
Due to the pandemic many students have had an unlevel playing field. Remote education has caused disadvantaged students to have a harder time learning than those who are more advantaged due to the digital divide as well as other reasons. This evidence clearly suggests that in order to grade on a level playing field, GCSEs and A-Levels should be abandoned.
Students who were due to take their important qualifications last year were told at the last minute that they were cancelled. This led to pupils being under a great deal of strain because they feared that they would not achieve the right grades for sixth forms, colleges and universities. The image of last year should not be repeated, which is why many students want the government to cancel exams in England, in order to reduce the amount of anxiety and stress students and parents alike will have about the tests.
The verdict is still not clear, but the popular opinion definitely seems to be to abandon GCSEs and A Levels, however only time will tell if the government makes the decision to cancel the exams.
Once again, the pandemic has shaped the way we live our lives.
