Private Candidates Summer 2021

Private candidates discussed at the Education Committee, March 9th 2021, transcript here https://committees.parliament.uk/oralevidence/1837/html/

This has been written in response to the Ofqual consultation launched on February 25th 2021 which ends on March 11th. It focuses on the arrangements for private candidates, particularly where the candidate has NOT used a distance learning provider or a tutor already working in conjunction with the exam centre.

On a point of terminology, "awarding organisation" [AO] and "exam board" tend to be used interchangeably.

There is also to be a new definition of private candidates set out in GQAA1 as follows:
Private Candidate
A Learner in relation to whom there is no Relevant Centre.
Relevant Centre
In relation to a Learner, a Centre which –
(a) has purchased the GQ Qualification on behalf of the Learner, and
(b) materially contributed to the preparation of the Learner for the assessment (whether through teaching or instruction provided by Teachers employed by it or otherwise).

NB elsewhere, private candidates may also be referred to as external candidates, but private candidates now seems to be the preferred term.

Specific information about private candidates can be found in Annex D of the Ofqual consultation, but there are implications for private candidates throughout the remaining consultation material, whether explicitly stated or not.

The present consultation is concerned solely with arrangements for Summer 2021 but GQAA2 says "The proposed condition also reflects our decision to consult on arrangements for an autumn examination series". This does not unequivocally state that there will be an Autumn series nor that if it were to happen it would necessarily mirror the arrangements for the Summer series. In addition we are not given timescales for when the Autumn series might take place and therefore when the outcome of this not-yet-started consultation would have to decided.

It is proposed that there will be no exams for GQ qualifications anywhere in the UK but that exams CAN be available outside the UK [source = Condition GQAA2]

The absolute final date for registration is to be June 18th 2021, with exam results to be published "by August" [source = Condition GQAA3]

In practice however, centres dealing with private candidates are likely to be inundated and may have capacity issues when it comes to late registration, especially this year.

A number of centres which have assisted private candidates in the past have already indicated that they are not in a position to do so this year. The government has been made aware of this and has recently said "there will be a number of assessment centres. A list will be put up soon. Multi-academy trusts have volunteered to assess private candidates, so private candidates can look at a list". [SOURCE]

Moreover, we don't know how much private candidates will have to pay. There is the entry fee for the normal deadline and then there is the late entry fee. To give an idea of timescales, this Pearson web page for private candidates says "We can assure private candidates that they will not need to pay higher entry fees if, as a result of this, they need to make their entry after the extended entry deadline. We appreciate that the arrangements are not yet clear for private candidates and so we will not penalise private candidates making entries up to 22 March"

However, the exam board charges are not the only cost for private candidates. There can also be an administration fee charged by the centre; plus any additional charges passed on by the centre to cover the extra work. The government has said "We are assisting with the cost of this" [SOURCE as above] but it is not clear whether the financial assistance will extend to all centres taking private candidates or indeed whether the assistance will be directed to centres or to candidates.

For example, in order to mirror the position for all other candidates, it is proposed that the centre will have to discuss with private candidates which parts of the syllabus they have covered, in order that the centre can select the appropriate assessment material from the exam boards (eg past papers)

The assessment itself can be conducted remotely but the centre still has to invigilate and find an appropriately qualified independent person to mark the assessment. In addition, since the board-provided assessment material is emphatically NOT an exam and will not be sufficient on its own, there is further work for the centre in reaching a true and fair final grade taking other evidence into account. This grade then has to be quality assured and "signed off" at the centre.

The main proposals for private candidates can be found in the Centre Guidance Annex D which derives from Condition GQAA3 where we are told that private candidates "should be assessed in a similar way to other students, using a range of evidence ... [and] should have the same opportunity as other students to be assessed on what they have learnt, but centres will need to bear in mind the particular circumstances of their students in the approach they take to determining grades, including the fact that the centre often will not already have previous evidence on which to base a judgement ... this is likely to mean that centres decide to use the full range of available flexibility in how grades are determined for these students to, for example: conduct assessments remotely if necessary; set new centre-devised assessments that reflect what the student has been taught and the specification; rely more heavily on the board-provided assessment materials; exceptionally, conduct recorded oral assessments with the students where insufficient other evidence is available."

The present Ofqual consultation states that in respect of private candidates "boards will also provide guidance on potential combinations of evidence that could be used for a specific subject" ie it will NOT just be left to the centre's discretion. It also says that heads of centres will need to ensure they are able to confirm that that the grades are a true representation of student performance, adding that "exam boards will produce further guidance".

I interpret this to mean that the arrangements being put forward by any particular exam centre right now cannot be taken as definitive even if they appear to be erring on the side of over-caution, as we don't yet know the outcome from the present Ofqual consultation, plus there are no guarantees as to precisely what the exam boards' final guidance will say.

Finally, proposed appeal arrangements are set out in Condition GQAA4. There are a number of grounds on which the learner can ask the centre to review the grade issued by the awarding organisation, including where the learner believes "the result reflects an unreasonable exercise of academic judgement on the part of the Centre." The centre then has to submit a proposed revised result to the awarding organisation, together with reasons and evidence. The awarding organisation does NOT have to accept the requested change.