Grade inflation is harming a generation of school children
Teachers should be able to take for granted that secondary school pupils can read fluently
The national Covid-19 inquiry rumbles slowly onwards. Module 8, examining the impact of the pandemic on children and young people, drew to a close last month. Blast-from-the-past appearances from Matt Hancock and Boris Johnson meant the decision to shut schools and stop exams from going ahead for the best part of two years was subjected to scrutiny and buck-passing in equal measure.
Since lockdown ended, concern has, rightly, been raised about so-called ‘ghost children’, who continue to be persistently absent from school rolls. Far less attention has been paid to the gaps in the education of those pupils who did turn up when schools reopened. Perhaps understandably, no one wants to be seen to undermine the efforts of hard-working children and teachers. Yet rather than owning up to the hard truth that schools could not close for extended periods without education suffering, learning loss was disguised with grade inflation. When exams resumed, the number of assessed topics was reduced, students were allowed to use ‘crib sheets’, and marking was more generous.
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