The challenge of awarding grades for this summer’s examinations cannot be underestimated. It may be doubly difficult for students who use English as an additional language. Caroline Bruce explains

 

Guidance from the Department for Education (DfE) and Ofqual (2021) concerning the awarding of GCSE grades for summer 2021 provides teachers with two distinct targets.

This will be challenging given school closures and disruptions to learning will have affected many students. Pupils who use English as an additional language (EAL) may also have experienced language learning loss due to less or lack of exposure to English, putting them at a greater disadvantage and lessening their ability to access the curriculum and perform to their full potential in assessments.

This highlights a need to ensure that students who use EAL are provided with relevant support in the run up to assessments to ensure an equitable outcome. Within the EAL cohort, late arrivals are already identified as an at-risk group (Strand et al 2015; Hutchinson, 2018; Strand, 2018).

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