Imagine a world in which we start developing our school curriculum from scratch. Does anyone seriously believe digital would not be at the heart of how it could be assessed?
I’m immensely relieved that we are not embarking on any such blank-slate enterprise and that the government is adopting an ‘evolution, not revolution’ posture towards curriculum and assessment reform.
But the fact is that much of what we need to pull off educationally can be better enabled by deploying digital cleverly. And (this should be music to ministers’ ears) at a better cost. In short, digital is key to getting everything this government most wants: better outcomes, more fairly and more inclusively.
At AQA, we think it’s our responsibility not simply to present arguments and positions about this, but actually to show people what it might look like. That’s why we’ve been working on several fronts to demonstrate digital’s potential and address understandable anxieties.
Where to begin?
Rather than argue for wholesale digitisation of high-entry exams, we’ve argued consistently for a subject-by-subject approach, working out carefully which assessments will best lend themselves to being digital first.
For example, while maths exams are actually quite tricky to move on-screen, English is quite suitable: our pilots showed that many students love how digital exams mean they can edit and finesse their responses without the need for time-consuming and illegible crossings out.
However, given that nearly every 16-year-old in the country will be sitting English Language GCSE at the same time, it doesn’t make sense to start there. Schools are not ready for that scale.
We are committed to starting with much smaller cohorts, which is why we are proposing to take small steps first with Italian and Polish GCSE speaking and listening exams.
Hearts and minds
Every time I write or talk about this, someone somewhere rails that we’re doing away with handwriting. I can assure you we have every intention of keeping some exams pen-and-paper for a long time to come.
Digital exams better develop digital skills and are more authentic to the digital world young people are growing up in. They also more easily support accessibility requirements, including coloured overlays and text enlargement. There are the environmental benefits too.
Digital also brings alternative solutions to how we enable teachers to stay on top of their own performance.
In Wales and Scotland, all children in primary and secondary schools take millions of digital assessments of literacy and numeracy each year delivered by AlphaPlus, part of AQA. These assessments adapt to students’ pace and ability, and provide immediate personalised feedback and timely information to improve teaching and learning.
These benefits would be unachievable without the power that digital assessment brings. And while they aren’t used to hold individual schools to account, they do offer options in terms of alternative methods for assessing students’ performance at a national level.
Breaking vicious cycles
Digital can also help crack the resits problem. The option to take a resit should always be on offer, yet we know some students get locked into a pretty bleak, apparently never-ending cycle.
We’re at the very advanced stage of delivering a numeracy assessment which people are now really starting to talk about. It tests ‘real-world’ maths, and it will be available on demand to take and practise whenever students are ready.
It also includes a learning component to address some of the fundamental issues that stop students progressing. Students can just get on with the resit rather than having to wait months until the next exam cycle.
For those who do resit, and for those making the transition from key stage 3 to key stage 4, we have created powerful diagnostic maths tests, which we’re offering for free. They’re designed to find and fix maths gaps that are critical to successful study at GCSE.
The big bang theory
The curriculum and assessment review has an important job in seeking to strike the right balance between stability and reform. But no one wants to take a step back from delivering high standards and excellent outcomes that properly equip young people for the next step in their lives, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
An evolutionary approach is absolutely the right way to go, but evolution doesn’t and shouldn’t mean waiting to introduce something only when it can be delivered at scale, a big bang moment when suddenly it’s everywhere.
The opposite in fact is true. We know it’s important to take a step-by-step approach, starting small, growing and learning before moving on and scaling up.
So yes, let’s take an evolutionary approach to the curriculum review. But let’s also make sure we exploit these proven digital opportunities to lift the quality of teaching and learning for all.
