The question of whether exams taken at 16 and 18 in England are effective and proportionate is a vexed one. Secondary assessment in the highly centralised English system is particularly high stakes and multi-purposed – being used to test young people’s understanding of the national curriculum, provide the basis for their further and higher education applications and hold the schools they attend accountable for performance. Disruption during the pandemic has only heightened concerns about the fairness and practicality of the system, with many politicians and sections of the media calling for wholesale reform.
