Under the circumstances, the Government has adopted what looks like a reasonable approach.
But it does raise a number of questions for higher education institutions.
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But it does raise a number of questions for higher education institutions.
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Predicted #ALevel grades tend to be inaccurate and have proven to be lower than actual grades for students from socially disadvantaged backgrounds and higher than actual for socially advantaged students.
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While the approach proposed is not the same as predictions, it is similar and so the biases are likely to persist (although it will be impossible to know the extent of the bias).
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This means that university access, if based on the July grades, will be biased towards the socially advantaged students, deepening the inequities in the system at a time when so many are working hard to improve #FairAccess
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A suite of solutions is required to address this.
Firstly, unis using July grades to admit students should regard them with a heavy degree of context. (There is excellent research by @SGorard @VikkiBoliver
to support doing this anyway.)
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Firstly, unis using July grades to admit students should regard them with a heavy degree of context. (There is excellent research by @SGorard @VikkiBoliver
to support doing this anyway.)
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@SGorard @VikkiBoliver Secondly, they should take measures to keep the door open for students who either need to appeal the July grade or who decide to take the September exams.
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@SGorard @VikkiBoliver Keeping the door open might mean a late start to the academic year for some or all students (perhaps even delaying it to January).
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@SGorard @VikkiBoliver It might mean a liberal attitude to deferment, even in disciplines that haven’t tended to like it (eg maths).
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@SGorard @VikkiBoliver This might require steps to ensure that students are able to ‘keep their hand in’ during the year.
There’d also be a knock-on on 2021 intake, so this approach ought not to be adopted too widely for fear of blockages in the pipeline.
There’d also be a knock-on on 2021 intake, so this approach ought not to be adopted too widely for fear of blockages in the pipeline.
@SGorard @VikkiBoliver Keeping the door open could also mean facilitating late starts by individuals. Unis need to plan induction, social integration and academic catch-up for them.
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@SGorard @VikkiBoliver It could also mean publishing a grade level before September that is an 'open offer’ to anyone achieving that grade by a certain date (and meeting other eligibility).
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@SGorard @VikkiBoliver The competitive games between universities could be painfully damaging to many individuals, particularly the most disadvantaged especially as unis are threatened by cataclysmic falls in international students and they may feel the need to take competitive advantage.
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@SGorard @VikkiBoliver @officestudents @UniversitiesUK @GuildHE @Independent_HE need to try to develop a sector-wide agreement for the good of all institutions and students.
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