21 May 2020
This update contains more guidance on the following matters: submitting grades; avoiding bias; updates to our FAQs; a new online support community for remote teaching; and university recognition.
Our updates, FAQs and school support pages continue to be updated regularly, so please bookmark them for your reference.
We will send our next update to schools on 28 May 2020 and will provide more information on results, as well as syllabus-focused support and guidance. We recognise that some schools may be off that day for half-term breaks and to celebrate Eid al-Fitr. However, all updates will be available on our website.
Submitting grades and rank orders
In our update on 13 May, we told you about the new online Grade Submission system that we are developing. Your centre will need to use this system to submit predicted grades and rank orders for each syllabus. This infographic on our website sets out the key dates for awarding grades in the June 2020 series.
You can also now find a step-by-step 'How to' guide on our website that explains the process you will need to follow, including how:
- your exams officer can set up access for your head of centre and any other teaching staff who need to submit data from 25 May.
- staff at your centre can add predicted grades and rank orders online or using a pre-populated template (we plan to open this part of the system between 29 May – 16 June).
- your head of centre will need to review, approve and submit predicted grades and rank orders by the end of the planned submission window (16 June).
Use the online form on the landing page to capture any questions you may have about the system when you read the ‘How to guide’. We will answer those questions in live exams officer webinars we will be running at the end of May and in early June. Our first set of webinars are planned to take place on Wednesday 27 May. We will be sending out registration links to exams officers on 21 May.
Later this week, we will be sharing more support - including Frequently Asked Questions and a video tutorial – please look out for this on our website. We will also notify exam officers directly of this support when we send out webinar registration links.
See Using the Grade Submission System for the latest updates.
When you are given access, you can use this link to log in to the system: www.cambridgeinternational.org/submitgrades
- Please note, this link will not work until the system is live.
- You should not try to submit grades via Cambridge International Direct.
Guidance about avoiding bias
We are providing extra information on objectivity in predicting grades and deciding on rank orders to help schools play their role in ensuring this year’s results are as fair as possible. This is based on existing research and analysis about how centres can assess candidates as objectively as possible. You can find our guidance here.
Updates to our FAQs
Our updated FAQs are here. Here are some recent key additions:
When will Cambridge International ask us to submit evidence?
As we explained in our guidance about awarding grades, we may ask you to send us the evidence you have considered in making your professional judgements. If we ask you for evidence, it is likely to be for a sample of your candidates, and we will identify the candidates whose evidence we would like to see. When we contact you with the request we will provide clear instructions on how to submit your evidence to us, which should be via electronic copy. We will make any initial requests for such samples to schools from 1-22 June. Follow-up requests may extend beyond 22 June. Please do not send any evidence to us at this stage.
Our centre has had its invoice from Cambridge - when will we receive our final statement?
We aim to send statements to centres by 29 May. They will reflect any credits due to your centre.
When will Statements of Results be published for the June 2020 series?
We expect to provide hard copies of Statements of Results to centres from the end of August.
Support for schools: new online community
We have set up a temporary online community dedicated to the subject of teaching and learning remotely while school is closed. The online community is a space for teachers to support and learn from each other by sharing experiences, challenges, ideas and resources. Join the community.
If you need help logging in, visit our help pages.
Our Teaching and learning when school is closed web pages aim to help you deliver effective teaching and learning outside the classroom, and continue your own professional development. The Cambridge International blog also has new posts on teaching maths and humanities remotely.
University recognition
Universities worldwide are continuing to give assurances that they will accept grades from Cambridge International in June 2020 in the same way as previous years. This week we would like to highlight the following new statements of support:
South Africa
We have engaged with Universities South Africa (USAf), a membership organisation representing South Africa’s public universities, about accepting Cambridge International’s June 2020 series grades for university entry and for purposes of issuing a certificate of exemption, a requirement to apply Bachelor’s degree courses in South Africa.
USAf have advised all South African universities that they consider these June 2020 series grades as equivalent to Cambridge International certified grades from previous series and to provide students with a Senate discretionary exemption.
Italy
CIMEA (Information Centre on Academic Mobility and Equivalence) – Italy’s official ENIC-NARIC centre that advises on the procedures of qualifications recognition – said: ‘We appreciate that Cambridge International are awarding grades for the June 2020 series using alternative assessment methods to those employed in other exam series. However, as June 2020 grades will be of the same value, we will continue to consider applications with Cambridge International qualifications for entry to our undergraduate degree courses in the same manner as we have in previous years.’
We have received statements of support from a large number of universities in popular study destinations, including the UK, US, Canada, China, Australia and South Africa. You can view the most recent list of university support statements on our website.
Staying in touch
You can find our advice on our website. If you have any questions, you can review our frequently asked questions, or contact us via: www.cambridgeinternational.org/help
We will update schools again in the week commencing 20 May. We wish everyone in the Cambridge International community well at this difficult time.