14 May 2020
This update contains more guidance on the following matters: support for schools on creating rank orders; submitting grades and updating exams officer contact details; entries for the November 2020 series and requests to withdraw entries; updates to our FAQs; and university recognition.
Our updates, FAQs and school pages continue to be updated regularly, so please bookmark them for your reference.
We will send our next update to schools on 20 May 2020.
Support for schools: creating rank orders
Our latest video answers the key questions we are receiving from schools about rank ordering, such as ranking large cohorts and ranking school candidates alongside private candidates. There is also an accompanying guide with practical suggestions for determining rank orders. You can find these resources, and the other videos in our Awarding grades for the June 2020 exam series page on our website.
Don’t forget you can visit our Teaching and learning when school is closed web pages to help you deliver effective teaching and learning outside the classroom, and continue your own professional development. You will also find resources and study tips for your learners, as well as guidance to help parents support their children to learn at home.
Submitting grades and updating exams officer contact details
We have developed a new online Grade Submission System for your centre to submit its predicted grades and rank orders. Your exams officer will need to access this system from Monday 25 May so they can set up access for the Head of Centre and any teaching staff who need to submit data.
Do we have the correct contact details for your exams officer? Please check them by 15 May – go to Cambridge International Direct and click My centre details above the main menu bar. You must update them if they are incorrect, otherwise your centre will not be able to access the Grade Submission System. If we work with you via a Cambridge Associate, including the British Council, they will contact you separately about this.
To help you use the Grade Submission System, we will provide a range of support on our website, including a ‘How to’ guide and a video tutorial, which you can access during the week beginning Monday 18 May. We will capture any questions you may have about the system and our grade submission team will answer those questions in a live webinar later in the same week. The submission window is planned to run from 29 May 2020 until 16 June 2020.
Meanwhile, you can continue to collate the predicted grades and rank orders for your candidates, using a separate .csv file for each syllabus.
To help centres prepare effectively, we want to share with you how and in what order the information will appear on the system. Following the same order and using a .csv spreadsheet to record your predicted grades and rank orders will mean you can upload the information more smoothly. The information will appear in columns in this order:
- centre number
- syllabus code
- candidate number
- candidate name
- date of birth
- predicted grade
- rank
Entries for November 2020 series and requests to withdraw entries
Entries for November series
Centres can begin to make entries for the November series from 31 May 2020. We have received a number of queries relating to preparing candidates for specific subjects in November 2020, including Cambridge International AS Level Drama, Art & Design, Music, Cambridge Global Perspectives and Physical Education. We are looking into these queries and will update centres as soon as possible.
Requests to withdraw entries
Our entry deadline for the June 2020 series has now closed and we cannot accept any further amendments or new entries. We have been working hard to develop our online system that will support schools with entering candidates’ predicted grades and rank orders. To make sure we can meet the planned release date for this system we must ensure that the data remains unchanged.
Schools who cannot provide predicted grades for a candidate will be able to withdraw them and receive a full credit for the entry. Schools will have an option on the Grade Submission System to indicate for each syllabus any candidate they wish to withdraw from the June 2020 series. These candidates will not receive a grade for that syllabus and the entry fees for these candidates will be credited to the school’s account after the online system has closed.
Updates to our FAQs
Our updated FAQs are here. Here are some recent key additions:
Non-standard entry profiles
We will provide details on our statistical standardisation and post-results procedures after the window for submitting predicted grades and rank orders closes (see Submitting grades above), but before we release results on 11 August. We regret that we cannot provide details of how these procedures might affect individuals or centres any sooner, and thank you for your patience on this matter.
Are predicted grades the same as the predictions that UK schools have provided to UCAS?
No. The prediction for a UCAS application is the grade an applicant’s school/college believes they are likely to achieve in positive circumstances to help universities understand the applicant’s potential. These grades are generally aspirational.
The predicted grade Cambridge International is requesting is new information that we have asked you to submit, together with rank orders, as part of the new process for the June 2020 series. Predicted grades should stem from a centre’s judgement about each candidate, and combine all the evidence a centre wants to consider, including any predictions previously submitted to UCAS.
University recognition
As mentioned in our last update, our Global Recognitions team is working with universities worldwide to ensure that they will accept grades awarded by Cambridge International in June 2020 in the same way as previous exam series. 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.
This week we want to highlight a new statement that will reassure Cambridge students applying to universities in Germany:
The Kultusministerkonferenz or KMK (Standing Conference of the Ministries of Education and Cultural Affairs) has confirmed that, with regard to university entrance in Germany, Cambridge International A levels awarded in the June 2020 series will be evaluated in the same manner as those taken in previous years.
You can view the most recent list of university support statements on our website. We are really encouraged by the responses we have received and the flexibility shown by universities in their admissions policies.
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.
