Today, exam regulator Ofqual released its final guidance to schools on how GCSE and A-level students should be graded this summer.

GCSEs and A levels 2021: Final Ofqual guidance on grading

Here are the most important points from the guidance:

1. Schools should protect teachers from parental pressure 

Ofqual has warned schools to shield teachers from parental pressure as they submit GCSE and A-level grades for students.

Last week, speaking at the Association of School and College Leaders’ conference, Ofqual’s interim chair, Ian Bauckham, raised similar concerns about the pressures that teachers could face, saying that awarding GCSE or A-level grades in 2021 should not be a “negotiation”.

GCSEs: Guard teachers from grades pressure, says Ofqual

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2. Exam boards will investigate ‘inappropriate’ levels of help from private tutors

The exam regulator also told schools that they must be confident that any work by students submitted to evidence their GCSE or A-level grades has been completed by the students themselves, without “inappropriate” levels of help from a private tutor.

“Exam boards will investigate instances where it appears that evidence is not authentic,” Ofqual added.

3. Standards should not be raised for 2021

Meanwhile, teachers should ensure that it is “no easier or harder for a student to achieve a particular grade this year compared to previous years”, Ofqual said.

The regulator said this advice was the same as that given to schools in 2020.

4. Teachers must watch out for nine types of bias

And Ofqual warned teachers to be on guard for different types of bias when awarding grades this summer.

They should be “aware of unconscious effects on objectivity”, and that their judgements can be affected by “unconscious beliefs”, the regulator said.