Policies

Centre Assessed Grades

Grading & Ranking

Ofqual guidance directs centres to make estimates of grades and rankings which will then be checked and moderated. This gives schools, colleges and teachers the flexibility within overall parameters to be as fair as possible to pupils within each subject. Headteachers and senior leaders will be actively engaged in ensuring that the grades submitted by their school or college are appropriate and that there is an overall process of control and oversight.

The definition of a “Centre Assessment Grade” is the teacher’s professional judgement of the grade the student would most likely have achieved if they had sat exams this summer and completed any non-exam assessment.  It is based on our teachers understanding of each individual student's abilities.

Steps to assigning Centre Assessment Grades

Step 1 - The first step in the process of assigning a Centre Assessment Grade is for a teacher to consider each individual student, assigning them a Professional Judgement Grade in their group(s). 

Step 2 - The second step starts with a group discussion, including the other teachers and the Head of Department of the subject, to combine the groups and students within them. 

Step 3 - The third step is moderation.  This step is undertaken by members of the College Leadership Team, in conjunction with the Heads of Department. 

Evidence Used

• Performance in class
• Performance in assignments
• Performance in recent mock exams
• Performance in coursework and other centre assessed work
• In year working grades
• Average GCSE scores and subject specific target grades
• Performance of other students in previous years
• Ability of students to redraft and improve their work
• Performance on placement

Moderation

The subjects are moderated by using data from previous years course performance.  Using this subject performance data some students’ grades are adjusted up or down to ensure the performance of each course is consistent with performance over previous years. 

The ranking of individual students on the course is not changed in the moderation process.

Awarding Bodies

Awarding bodies will then put the centre assessed grades through a standardisation process to ensure grading standards are consistent across all centres. The rank order of candidates will not be changed but the final grades received may be different to the centre assessed grade. On candidate statements of results and certificates, final grades will be reported in the same way as in previous years.

Requests for information relating to your centre assessment grade and rank orders should be submitted in writing to the Exams Officer, exams@franklin.ac.uk  

Concerns about your results

If you have a concern about a grade you have been awarded, you can ask the Exams Officer to:

• Check whether an error was made when submitting your centre assessment grade and rank order to the awarding body
• Raise a complaint if you feel you have evidence of bias or that you were discriminated against
• Provide additional information on how the centre assessed grade was calculated

Following release of results Ofqual will be providing information for students that sets out how their grades were calculated this year and the options available if it is believed that their result was not properly produced. They also have a helpline available to students and their parents or carers to talk about the appeals process and any other questions they may have about their results this summer.

Arrangements for appeals

The arrangements for awarding qualifications in summer 2020 state that candidates can appeal their grades through their centre if they feel the process this summer was not followed correctly in their case.

A candidate can:

• Ask their centre to appeal on their behalf to an awarding body if there is evidence that leads a candidate to believe
• The centre made an error when submitting a centre assessment grade or rank order information
• An awarding body made a mistake when calculating, assigning or communicating a grade

A candidate cannot:

• Appeal against their centre assessment grades and position in the rank order
• Appeal in respect of the process or procedure used in calculating their centre assessment grades and position in the rank order
• Appeal directly in any respect to the awarding body

Opportunity to take the exam

Any candidate who received a calculated grade in summer 2020 will have the opportunity to sit the exam/s should they wish in either autumn 2020 or summer 2021. The autumn series will take place during the dates below.

• A Level – 5th to 23rd October 
• GCSE – 2nd to 23rd November

Should you wish to be entered for exams during this time you will need to submit your request in writing to the exams officer by email to exams@franklin.ac.uk no later than Wednesday 26th August 2020.

The college will cover the exam entry cost and no fees will be charged to students.

Please note not all boards and Ofqual have released all their guidance.  This summary may change.