No Exams, No Problem? How schools are protecting outcomes without formal assessment

Wednesday 3 June | 11am BST - 2pm GST - 6pm CST

 

When formal exams are taken off the table schools face an urgent question: how do you protect standards, progression, and pupil confidence without the familiar scaffolding of high-stakes tests?

 

This session explores what strong schools actually do. From professional judgement and classroom evidence to moderation, feedback, portfolios, performance tasks, and broader indicators of progress we'll look at the practices that hold up when exams can't.

 

Is the absence of exams simply a problem to be solved — or an invitation to think more carefully about what we value, what we measure, and how we communicate learning?

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What we'll cover:

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• Protecting standards: How to maintain rigour and progression when exams are absent, reduced, or delayed.

• Evidence without exams: Using portfolios, performance tasks, moderation, and classroom evidence effectively.

• Professional judgement: What good teacher assessment looks like and how to build confidence in it across your school.

• Communicating to stakeholders: How to talk about learning and progress to students, parents, and universities.

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Who should attend:

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• Headteachers and senior leaders navigating assessment reform or disruption

• Heads of year and curriculum leads responsible for tracking progression

• Assessment leads looking for alternatives to formal testing

• Anyone asking whether exams are doing all the work we think they are