Student experiences of the 2020 cancellation of England’s General Certificates of Secondary Education (GCSEs)

In 2020, school closures in England due to the Coronavirus (‘Covid-19’) pandemic resulted in the cancellation of high-stakes examinations and their replacement with teacher-based assessments. These changes represented a significant change for students who had been preparing to undertake examinations for the ‘end-of-school’ General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE). This research reports part of a survey that explored the experiences of these students, with a particular focus on students’ psychological responses. Two hundred and twelve students responded to a questionnaire survey that asked them to reflect on their feelings about the changes to the GCSE assessment. Responses were analysed using both thematic and content analysis and revealed five themes: Issues of control; Issues of fairness; Issues of communication and decision making; A shifted path; and The impact of the changes. We re-emphasise the attested value of forms of ongoing dialogue with students about their assessment experiences and consultation with them about decision making in assessment in order to inform planning to optimise student assessment experience.