Grade appeals system still misses
the mark on
unconscious bias concerns
Marking A-Level results day, Labour’s London Assembly Education Spokesperson, Jennette Arnold OBE AM, has warned about the downgrading of pupils from disadvantaged and BAME backgrounds due to unconscious bias. Ms Arnold said that the recent events in Scotland will have only added to the “significant amount of stress and anxiety” that young people have been under in recent months.
Ms Arnold has recently written to the Education Secretary, Gavin Williamson, and the exams regulator, Ofqual, to call for individual students to be given the ability to appeal against awarded grades if they believe their marks have been negatively impacted by unconscious bias.
Ofqual have since responded to say that the right to lodge an appeal will continue to lie with schools rather than pupils, claiming that teachers are best placed to determine whether a grade needs to be challenged.
However, in previous correspondence, Ms Arnold has pointed to the findings of a London Assembly Education Panel investigation which revealed that unconscious bias remains a significant issue for BAME young Londoners in the education system. Government research has also found that black students are most likely to have their grades underpredicted.
In the wake of the downgrading fiasco in Scotland, the Government have now introduced a so-called ‘triple-lock’ system, which will allow pupils in England to either stick with their awarded grade, appeal against it based on their mock-exam results, or sit exams in the Autumn.
Her latest intervention follows on from the warnings she issued in April about the potential pitfalls of the awarded grades system, which has been put in place by the Government to replace cancelled exams and assessments in the midst of the Covid-19 outbreak.
Labour’s London Assembly Education Spokesperson, Jennette Arnold OBE AM, said:
“Young people have already been placed under a significant amount of stress and anxiety in recent months, and the many flaws of the awarded grades system played out in Scotland last week, have needlessly added to their burden.
“I warned the Government of the potential pitfalls of their new grading system back in April, but was reassured that there was a robust plan in place to address them all.
“Recent events have only heightened my concerns that those from disadvantaged and BAME backgrounds will still be placed at a disproportionate risk of being downgraded.
“Unconscious bias plays a big role in this, and so it is crucial that the appeals process is opened up to students as well as schools”.
ENDS
Related documents
Jennette Arnold OBE AM Letter to Education Secretary RE Awarded Grades
Ofqual Response to Jennette Arnold OBE AM
Notes to editors
- Jennette Arnold OBE’s letter to the Secretary of State for Education, Gavin Williamson MP and the exams regulator, Ofqual, can be found attached;
- Ofqual’s response to this letter can also be found attached;
- A London Assembly Education Panel investigation revealed that unconscious bias remains a significant issue for students from a BAME background and often affects how they are treated in the classroom;
- Research published by the now-abolished Department for Business, Innovation and Skills in June 2011 found that black students were most likely to have their grades underpredicted, and overall only 39% of their predicted grades were accurate, while their white counterparts had the highest, at 53%;
- The Government has now introduced a ‘triple-lock’ system, which will allow pupils in England to either stick with their awarded grade, appeal against it based on their mock-exam results, or sit exams in the Autumn;
- In April, Ms Arnold issued a warning to the Government about the potential pitfalls of the awarded grades system, which has been put in place by the Government to replace cancelled exams and assessments in the midst of the Covid-19 outbreak;
- Jennette Arnold OBE AM is the London Assembly Member for North East London (covering Hackney, Islington and Waltham Forest).