In 2022, we released an update to address the changes to how teacher-assessed (TAG) early entries will count in the 2022 Performance Measures, as announced by the DfE.
Below we have explained how to set up early teacher-assessed entries, as well as providing some examples / key impacts of these DfE changes at the end of this article.
How do I set up the TAG early entries?
In order for your figures to be in line with the new guidance, you will need to give any TAG early entries that you know will be unapproved an exam date from the 2021 exam season (from 01/08/2021 to 31/08/2021). This includes any grades that were achieved in the 2020 exam season. There are 2 options for how to do this:
1 / Manually edit the exam date
Please note: The below screenshots are for KS3/4 but the process is similar for KS5.
If you only have a handful of grades that will need to be changed then you can manually edit the date within Analytics. To do this, head to DATA > KS & cohort > GRADES > Grades Management > select assessment collection or data set > click into grade count for qualification.
From here, you can then use the checkboxes to select the grade/s that need their date changing, followed by 'Edit Date':
2 / Upload your early entries in a separate file
The second option would be to split out your qualifications/grades into separate files (one for qualifications that will count and one for those that won't count). You can then upload these files into DATA > KS & cohort > GRADES > Uploads. On the file upload page, you are able to set the 'Exams Date' for the file you're uploading:
Please note: If you already have your grades uploaded in separate files then you don't need to reupload these, instead in GRADES > Uploads, you can click the blue pencil icon to the right of the file and change the Exams Date from here:
How do I then publish with the 2022 DfE rules? (KS3/4 only!)
After the appropriate exam dates have been set for your grades, you will then need to ensure to publish with the new 2022 DfE rules in order for the early entries to count appropriately in the reports.
To do this, head to GRADES > Publish Grades and click 'Publish' next to the report you're working with.
From the 'DfE Rules from' dropdown, you can select '2022' and click 'Publish' again, which will then result in your early entries not carrying points towards your Headline figures:
Please note: There are no DfE rules in KS5, republishing your reports after changing the dates for your grades will automatically apply the early entry changes!
Appendix - Examples
The 2022 rules for KS4 state that while the points for an early entry / TAG grade cannot count towards headlines, they can count as an entry. This is important as several measures carry entry requirement.
Here are the key impacts at KS4:
- English points doubling in Attainment 8
- If a student takes both English Language and Literature Exam, the points for the better grade are doubled in the English basket, and the other grade is eligible for inclusion in the Open basket. However, in 2022 if one of English Language or Literature is an early entry / TAG grade, this can count as a supporting entry and so the points for the other grade will still be doubled in the English basket, but the early entry is ineligible for inclusion in the Open Basket.
- Separate sciences supporting entries in EBacc and VA
- A student taking separate science (Bio/Chem/Phys/Comp Sci) needs to have entries in at least 3 of the sciences to be included in the science element of the EBacc. Under the 2022 rules, an early entry / TAG grade cannot count towards the EBacc achievement/APS, but can count as a supporting entry as long as the student has Exam grades in at least 2 of the other separate sciences.
- EBacc overall entry
- If a student’s only entry in one of the 5 EBacc pillars (Eng/Mat/Sci/Hum/Lang) is an early entry / TAG grade, then the student is entered for that element but cannot achieve it. For example, if a student has an early entry / TAG in French and that’s their only language entry, and they have sufficient entries in the other pillars to have entered those, they will be considered as having Entered but not Achieved the overall EBacc measure, and the school’s performance tables figures will reflect this.
It may also be worthwhile bearing in mind that if a student took a TAG, then an Exam in discounting subjects, the student would not be awarded anything.
Thanks for reading!