The A-Level grading approach that is currently being taken by Taylor’s is one that is riddled with flaws. Unlike CIE, Taylor’s does not recognise the seriousness of the Covid-19 pandemic as they intend to replace the cancelled exams in the same time period that were meant to take place (May/June). Below are the problems with this approach:

1. The WHO predicts that Malaysia will see a peak in cases in mid-April. Should this prediction be true, it is hard to imagine that exams can still proceed mid May. Nationwide, there is speculation that the quarantine will be extended. Even if the quarantine isn’t extended, government policy may not allow for exams to take place i.e. mass gatherings may still be banned. The safety concern is a real one. Exams would constitute as a mass gathering; conducting an exam would be unsafe regardless of government policy. It’s more than fair to assume that parents would not be comfortable with their children attending this exam. Therefore, we are of the opinion that in these unpredictable times, Taylor’s should prioritise the health and well-being of its students.

2. The promise of an examination is uncertain. Taylor’s has the duty to inform students of a viable alternative that does not involve mass gatherings. This is a time sensitive issue because students only have until April 13 to decide if they wish to differ their examinations to the October/November period which is likely to impact university admissions. Hence, information with regards to a viable alternative is important to aid us in making this decision.

We propose that Taylor’s consider the alternative of an assessment based grading system. We understand that that the problem with this is that only unaided work is recognised by CIE. However, it is also to our understanding that teachers have the discretion to authenticate and verify unaided work. Therefore, we propose that Taylor’s focuses on providing CIE with evidence that can be backed with the most data as possible. Taylor’s ought to generate a formal system to carry out these assessments which allows for students to create new evidence - signing up for an examination based system means that students have different methods of studying to achieve a certain grade. There are many examples of students achieving poor grades in their mock examinations and doing significantly better in the actual test. This is also a time sensitive decision as students should be allowed a reasonable amount of time to provide said evidence.