How can we motivate our children in 2021, with no exams?

Schools in the UK reopened on the 8th of March 2021, and many parents breathed a sigh of relief. It’s been difficult working from home with many distractions, and parents have had it hard. Although it’s led to some brilliant YouTube videos, back to school means fewer balls to juggle, and less dragging children out of rooms (that frantic door grab at the end)!

However, students are not working towards their usual GCSE and A Level summer exams and while this may be a relief for some, for others it’s disappointing and discouraging. How can we help motivate children, without that final push?

What is happening instead?

Instead of exams, teachers will base each student’s grade on the work they've completed during the year. This year the government is putting trust back into the hands of teachers, rather than the controversial algorithm from 2020, in which over 40% of students’ scores were lower than their predicted grades.

The algorithm also penalised children in underperforming schools and used the last three years of their education as a basis, not considering children that had turned a corner academically.

The lack of exams may have come as a shock for crammers, who are inspired by exams as a motivation to study. How can we encourage these children to see learning as the end goal? The algorithm in 2020 was heavily criticised, this year schools are leaning towards coursework.

Divisive exams, will we go back?

Crammers can’t truly be blamed when our education system has used exams as the main way of assessing academic achievement for years. The UK education system has been criticised for its obsession with exams, which has created learning styles with these end goals in mind 6. Students are under the impression that their results are the only important aspect of learning, and this message is widespread in our culture.

Some argue that examinations build resilience in children and prepare them for deadlines in the working world. Others would argue that examinations are crushing the natural love of learning that most children develop at an early age.

The OCED 2018 PISA results showed that approximately half of the students in the UK are satisfied with their life. This isn’t a high percentage when compared to the 67% average across 72 other countries. If stress erodes happiness, and exams create stress, then it seems likely that exams could be a cause of this low happiness score.

Exams are leading to a higher stress level in UK students

It’s evident for parents that the happiness of their children always needs to come first. With Covid, everything is changing, and children have had to adapt. Perhaps it’s time for the UK education system to adapt. If we can change the entire system in one year, it shows that anything is possible. Are we content to go back to how things were, or can we do better?

What can parents do to help? Genuinely resilient, life-long learning.

Without the usual motivations of exams, it will be interesting to see if anything changes this academic year. Different styles of learning beyond the usual memory exercises in revision could challenge children and allow them to re-discover a natural love of learning.

As the culture of exams has permeated into our culture, the desire to correct our children is strong, not only with home studies but also in creative pursuits such as building Lego and crafts. Creating the space for children to make mistakes leads them to have greater self-confidence and a creative mindset.

Allowing children to make mistakes also fosters greater character, teaches them decision-making, and allows them to deal with disappointment from an early age. This time of change could be a great time to help our children develop new habits and grow from the experience.

Allowing children to make mistakes is the key

Unfortunately, the UK school system is likely to go back to exams. I think this is unfortunate because exams make children feel like everything must be perfect, and that they have no room to mess up. This hinders their potential and strips away self-confidence.

Parents can help in this situation, by allowing the home to be a place where their children can make mistakes, no matter how frustrating this can be. It takes patience for parents not to give away the answers straight away, and not to accidentally put down a child’s more ‘out there’ ideas. Nonetheless, it is key to developing a brave attitude and a life-long love of learning in our children.

References

1. The Lancet (2021) School reopening without robust COVID-19 mitigation risks accelerating the pandemic. Available from: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)00622-X/fulltext#:~:text=School%20reopening%20without%20robust%20COVID%2D19%20mitigation%20risks%20accelerating%20the%20pandemic,-Deepti%20Gurdasani&text=On%20Feb%2022%2C%202021%2C%20the,reopen%20on%20March%208%2C%202021. Accessed: [08/04/2021]

2. BBC News (2020) Children interrupt BBC News interview-BBC News. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mh4f9AYRCZY. Accessed: [08/04/2021]

3. TheUniGuide (2021) What’s happening with GCSE, A-level and Btec exams in 2021? Available at: https://www.theuniguide.co.uk/advice/revision-help/what-s-happening-with-gcse-a-level-and-btec-exams-in-2021. Accessed: [08/04/2021].

4. Institute for Government (2020) Four things government must learn from the A-level algorithm fiasco. Available from: https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/blog/a-level-algorithm-fiasco. Accessed: [08/04/2021].

5. Blue Tutors (2020) The pandemic’s effect on the pre-exam crammers. Available from: https://bluetutors.co.uk/tuition-articles/2020/sep/bluetutors-articles/the-pandemic-s-effect-on-the-pre-exam-crammers. Accessed: [08/04/2021].

6. The Telegraph (2019) ‘Britain’s exam-obsessed narrow education system is failing to prepare students for success in life.’ Available from: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education-and-careers/2019/12/06/britains-exam-obsessed-narrow-education-system-failing-prepare/. Accessed: [08/04/2021].

7. OCED (2018) PISA 2018 results. Available from: https://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/pisa-2018-results.htm. Accessed: [08/04/2021].

8. Blue Tutors (2020) Making parents better tutors. Available from: https://bluetutors.co.uk/tuition-articles/2020/jan/bluetutors-articles/making-parents-better-tutors. Accessed: [08/04/2021].