With GCSE and A Levels cancelled again this year, teacher assessments will be used to grade our young people’s academic abilities instead of exams. These exams at age 16 and 18 have long been criticised as an assessment of a person’s ability to remember a bunch of facts against the clock, rather than offering a more rounded view of their overall competencies or strengths.
The pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on the young. Existing shortcomings in the education system have been compounded by abrupt changes in the labour market. As the skills that young people need rapidly evolve, how should we prepare them for twenty-first century jobs?