{"id":223,"date":"2020-09-10T15:39:19","date_gmt":"2020-09-10T15:39:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.tutorspot.co.uk\/?p=223"},"modified":"2021-10-01T09:51:44","modified_gmt":"2021-10-01T09:51:44","slug":"should-students-take-their-autumn-exams-or-should-we-delay-them-until-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tutorspot.co.uk\/blog\/should-students-take-their-autumn-exams-or-should-we-delay-them-until-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"Should Students Take Their Autumn Exams Or Should We Delay Them Until 2021?"},"content":{"rendered":"
2020 has been a year of uncertainty for everyone. The recent outbreak of Covid-19 has disrupted lives across the globe, with a notable effect in the education system worldwide. In the UK, lockdown measures forced the schools to shut in mid-March 2020, leaving teachers and parents to attempt to homeschool students with short notice and limited resources – this has been particularly difficult for parents who were trying to juggle homeschooling with working from home. Many classes were able to be held online, teachers were working overtime to ensure they could support their students however possible and some students even enlisted the support of an online tutor, but there\u2019s no doubt that many students will have fallen behind due to this unforeseen situation.<\/p>\n
As schools head back this month, schools, teachers and students are trying to embrace the new normal with social distancing measures, whilst trying to adjust back into their routines. A swift re-adjustment is of utmost importance during this time, as the last four months of the 19\/20 school year were lost due to school closures.Therefore, getting back into the swing of things is crucial to ensure the future success of the current cohort of students.<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
Even with a prompt return to academic normality, students will be playing catch up with their studies to ensure they are ready for their upcoming exams. For GCSE and A-Level students in their first or second year of their studies, there is a strong case for delaying these exams as these students are at an extremely unfair disadvantage. Through no fault of their own, they have missed four months of time spent in the classroom, and their results should not have to be affected by this. In this article we look at the situation in more depth and share our thoughts on delaying these exams for the benefit of the students who are working hard to achieve their best.<\/p>\n
How Did Covid-19 Affect the 2020 Exam Results?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Throughout students\u2019 schooling careers, exams are hugely important. They are what determines the next step for many students, especially when it comes to their GCSEs and A-Levels. Many students work very hard for these exams, striving to achieve their academic potential and therefore, expect to be rewarded for their hard work accordingly.<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
During summer 2020, due to the pandemic, the UK government decided to cancel the GCSE and A-Level exams that were set to take place and then to \u2018standardise\u2019 the results for all of these students. The result of this was that in August 2020, all GCSE and A-Level students\u2019 received results that were decided using an algorithm based on the averages of their school. For many students, this brought their grades down significantly, meaning that a number of A-Level students missed out on the opportunity to get into their first or second choice universities.<\/p>\n
As we saw in the days following these results, students, parents and teachers petitioned against the government\u2019s decision and were able, instead, to ensure students received the grades that their teacher\u2019s predicted for them. These predicted grades would have been based on academic performance throughout the year as well as mock exams and exams held in the autumn of 2019. This U-turn from the government shifted grades significantly for students across the country, allowing them to fulfill their goals, and, for those A-Level students, get into their chosen universities.<\/p>\n
Overcoming Results\u2019 Uncertainty in the Future<\/strong><\/h2>\n
As we are unsure if and how the Covid-19 outbreak will continue to disrupt life going forward, it\u2019s unclear as to whether or not schools will need to shut again in the near future. At this point, it is very much a possibility and schools need to be prepared for how they will handle this situation should it arise. For exams, it\u2019s certain that the government, schools, students and teachers will want to avoid another results\u2019 disaster next August, which is why we should be giving our students the greatest possible chance to achieve their best results in all their subjects. Given that students are currently playing catch up and are focused on taking on-board as much information as possible, it seems only fair that they are given as much of a chance to attain good grades in their upcoming exams.<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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<\/figure>\n![\"Student](\"https:\/\/blog.tutorspot.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/student-doing-maths-calculations.png\")
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<\/figure>\n![\"Student](\"https:\/\/blog.tutorspot.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/student-having-an-online-tutored-session.png\")
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