The Salopian - Winter 2021

SCHOOL NEWS 7
In both years, commentators remarked
that the results were ‘inflated’. This
is true in the sense that the overall
distribution of grades was significantly
higher than in previous years and
under the traditional test format.
However, the two systems were totally
different; so the grades are ‘different’
rather than ‘inflated’. Assuming the
professional integrity and accuracy
of schools, the children got their best
results. Their ‘fairest’ possible results.
On a local level, I was deeply proud
of the professionalism and dedication
of our academic staff at Shrewsbury
in managing both exam sessions so
expertly. And the adaptability of pupils
and steadfastness of their parents too.
The A Level outcomes saw well over
90% of Salopians leave to their first
choice university.
What will Summer 2022 bring? Well,
plan A is the return of the ‘five-day
test’ format, pretty much as we know
it of old. That is, exams under timed
conditions in silent halls. Papers in
specific subjects will be spaced ten
days apart to allow for absence due
to a positive PCR (that other kind of
test). Some adaptations will be made
to enhance the playing surface: the
heavy roller. All the batswomen will
have some idea of the kind of bowler
they will be facing – some advance
information will be provided. If, for
some extraordinary reason, the cricket
season is cancelled (that is, the exam
session is called off), then existing
data will be used to calculate grades –
another variant on 2020 and 2021. Not
quite a T20 or The Hundred, but grades
would again be awarded by a potted
version of exams that relies on teacher
judgment. However, plan A is very much
the favoured and expected eventuality for
Summer 2022.
Perhaps most interestingly, the recent
mobility of the examination system has
freed up conversations about alternative
modes of assessment. This is really
interesting territory. Why is the threehour
exam the best and fairest way
to assess attainment? It’s probably the
easiest to moderate and standardise.
But is it the most subtle? Of course not.
Surely a range of softer methods, such
as interviews and practical challenges
would generate a more rounded
sense of a person’s capability. Exams
only develop and reward a narrow
bandwidth of skills. How might we
test empathy? Yet, we all know that
the ability to listen or the aptitude for
collaboration are vital life skills.
The Rethinking Assessment movement
argues that the cancellation of exams
provides a break in play and that
educators should seize the opportunity
to change the rules of the game. They
argue that “exams have a stranglehold on
our entire education system. […] Many
young people find the way our exam
system works increasingly stressful and
not a true reflection of what they can do
or are good at. The arms race for grades is
brutal, and the notion of ‘raising standards’
redundant; the GCSE system necessitates
that the bottom third fail. Headteachers feel
that high stakes exams distort priorities and
stop them from providing a well-rounded
education for their pupils. Our assessment
system is not giving universities, colleges
or employers the kind of information
they want, nor evidencing the kinds of
dispositions and capabilities which help
young people to succeed at school and
in life.”
The issues raised here are too many
and too complex to address in a short
article. Whilst many will share the
sense that there is an opportunity to
rethink assessment, it is a massive
project. Some will say that the energy
for revolution is simply not there.
Others will argue that the exam system
is not perfect, but the best available.
Others still will question why we
need examinations at age 16 when
all children need to remain in school
or training until the age of 18. Still
more will trumpet the merits of the
IB or other systems. (In my view,
the IB attempts to certify a wider
but still incomplete slice of what we
call whole person education. The
combination of A Levels, EPQ and
Institute of Leadership and Management
Diplomas and all the non-assessed
personal development of a Shrewsbury
education is a far superior dashboard.)
What seems apparent is that universities
and employers are looking further and
further beyond examination grades.
Our pupils need to be delivering their
best in the exam hall, but this is only
one aspect of their performance; one
set of skills. To return to cricket: it is
not just the performance on the pitch, it
is the pre-match interview, the response
to defeat, the wider business of how
you lead your life between games.
The only examination to assess the full
fruits of whole person education is life
itself. Not quite a timeless test, but a
very long, multi-format series in which
each player needs to build and play
to a wide variety of aptitudes. And to
approach each game with a spirit of
serious fun.
Leo Winkley
The Headmaster’s house, c 1800