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EXCLUSIVE

 

Top universities to offer 'inclusive assessments' for minority groups in bid to improve exam results

 

By ELEANOR HARDING, MailOnline

 

Published: 01:53, 25 January 2025 | Updated: 02:25, 25 January 2025

 

Elite universities have been given the green light to improve results for minority groups by moving away from traditional exams.

 

The Office for Students (OfS) signed off official plans by Russell Group institutions to use fewer in-person, unseen papers and replace them with 'inclusive assessments' such as open book tests and take home papers.

 

Universities are under pressure to close the gap in the proportion of firsts and 2:1s given to white, middle-class students compared with other groups.

 

Tutors believe traditional exams disadvantage ethnic minorities, poorer students and those with mental health issues and disabilities.

 

Limited research has shown some attainment gaps reduce when grades are not based on traditional exams, but it is not clear why.

 

But Tory MP Richard Holden said: 'This knee-jerk and patronising approach to dumbing down university education serves no one.

 

'Children from every background can thrive in a highly rigorous academic environment.'

 

And Sir John Hayes, a former Tory education minister, said the changes were 'deeply insulting to students from minority backgrounds', adding they would 'undermine the integrity of the assessment process.'

 

The Office for Students (OfS) signed off official plans by Russell Group institutions to use fewer in-person, unseen papers and replace them with 'inclusive assessments' such as open book tests and take home papers.

 

Tory MP Richard Holden said: 'This knee-jerk and patronising approach to dumbing down university education serves no one'

 

The strategies are revealed in Access and Participation Plans (APPs) for 2025 and beyond, which the OfS regulator has approved.

 

Every year, as part of their registration conditions, universities must draw up an APP showing how they are helping students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

 

Oxford University's APP pledges to 'use a more diverse and inclusive range of assessments' to 'improve the likelihood' of students from 'lower socio-economic backgrounds' getting good degrees, while

 

Cambridge's APP pledges to 'improve outcomes' for 'Black-British and British-Bangladeshi students' and says 'assessment practices' may be to blame for 'awarding gaps'.

 

It references Cambridge research describing traditional assessments as 'threats to self-worth'.

 

Meanwhile, King's College London plans to 'diversify assessment' and make it 'fairer' – although the university has said it still plans to keep some traditional exams.

 

OfS data shows there is a 22 per cent gap between white and black students when it comes to achieving at least a 2:1, and an 11 per cent gap between advantaged and disadvantaged students.

 

A spokesman for the OfS said: 'Through APPs, we encourage universities to consider whether their assessments are working properly for all students because we know that some students are more likely to attain lower grades than their peers, even when their prior academic performance is the same.

 

'Where there is evidence that current assessment models may not be fair, it is appropriate for universities to trial and evaluate changes in the way they grade students.'

 

However, he added that courses must still be 'academically robust, credible, and a reliable reflection of students' hard work.'

 

sauce: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14323669/Top-universities-offer-inclusive-assessments-minority-groups-improve-results.html