In ordinary times, our exam system ensures that a third of young people finish school without the qualifications they need to progress. Now, after two years of cancelled exams, public dismay at algorithmic blindness to the true nature of student achievement, and after millions of the most disadvantaged children have missed out on key learning milestones, there has never been a more critical time to question our approach to assessment.  

The questions reach deeper than addressing the unfairness of the exam system, however. With Covid-19 sparking a youth unemployment crisis and social mobility grinding to a halt, do the events of 2020-21 force a fundamental rethink of the capabilities on which school curriculum and assessment should focus? 

Join us for a new series of Rethinking Education events, bringing together respected practitioners, policymakers and thinkers, to discuss whether the challenges that emerged during the Covid-19 crisis might, in fact, be opportunities to build consensus across political divides and different traditions in teaching and learning.  

Each event in the series focuses on one of the key moments of crisis for education during the pandemic, through the lens of either Creativity, Capability or Community - the three pillars of the RSA’s new education programme examining how we can build a more equitable and inclusive education system.

#RSAeducation 

This conversation was broadcast online on the 9th June 2021 . Join us at: www.thersa.org