Student protests in Great Britain against evaluation using a computer program
Photo:SIMON DAWSON / REUTERS
The dispute over the award of final grades for final exams canceled due to Corona is turning a new loop in Great Britain: The State Secretary responsible for schools Nick Gibb has admitted that he had been informed weeks ago about the risks of an assessment using algorithms that the British used Government wanted to prevent overly good grades. However, Gibb also said that the now pulped process was basically fair, but incorrectly applied.
Because numerous final exams were canceled in the spring due to the corona pandemic, the government had initially decided that the teachers should set the final grades of the students based on their previous performance. In order to avoid a flood of above-average grades, the average at each school should then be adapted to previous years using an algorithm.
Students and parents protested. They feared that high-performing students in on average poorer state schools would be disadvantaged compared to under-performing students in on average better private schools. The process is socially unjust, so the criticism.
Gibb now apologized for "the pain and fear" of the students that the grade corrections had caused in the A levels comparable to the Abitur. In this "standardization process" around 40 percent of all results were subsequently reduced. Schoolchildren in socially disadvantaged areas were disproportionately affected.
Kare Green, education policy spokeswoman for the opposition Labor party, railed on Thursday about the "incompetence" of the government of the Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson. This was "repeatedly warned of problems with the note algorithm".
The Johnson government is already under criticism for its corona measures. The banknote chaos is particularly sensitive politically because numerous families are directly affected and fear for their children's future chances. In voter polls, the Conservative Party's lead has shrunk from nine percent last week to two percent.
Note inflation cannot be dismissed out of hand
On Monday, the government gave in and reversed the adjustments nationwide. Now the teachers' assessments should apply. The fears of banknote inflation, however, cannot be completely dismissed out of hand. This is indicated by the results of the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE), a school leaving certificate comparable to the secondary school leaving certificate.
Accordingly, 25.9 percent of the students received top grades - compared to 20.6 percent last year. Universities will have to accept 15,000 more students than originally planned due to the withdrawal of the correction at A-Levels.
Icon: The mirrorfocus / AFP