The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed weaknesses—and strengths—of the systems we rely on in the modern world, including in the realm of education and assessment.
As a worldwide, not-for-profit education organization, Cambridge Assessment International Education touches communities in over 10,000 schools, in over 160 countries. In the U.S. alone, Cambridge International has doubled the number of high school
students in AS and A Level courses in just the past two years.
To support the many students and colleges that rely on our assessments, the pandemic confronted us with the basic question: how can we provide students, colleges, and universities the same consistent, reliable assessment results during a time
of social distancing and uncertainty?
After Cambridge International decided to cancel the June 2020 face-to-face examinations, our goals have been clear: ensure safety for all stakeholders, provide equality of opportunity for all students, and award deserved credit to students for
their Cambridge International coursework so they can progress on their educational path.
To develop a valid, fair, and effective approach to assessing and awarding grades for the June 2020 exam series, we collected input from entities worldwide, including other awarding bodies, governments, and universities.
The assessment criteria we developed are now available online: a four-step process for awarding grades for the June 2020 series. Students will receive grades and diplomas (e.g., Cambridge AICE) as if they had sat for exams, and colleges and universities can have confidence in our assessment results.
In other changes due to COVID-19, Cambridge International has also shifted most of our grade transcripts to electronic delivery for US students. We continue to seek more efficient ways for US colleges and universities to understand and review
Cambridge International student applications.
To help us refine our transcripts process, we invite colleges and universities to attend and provide feedback in a free webinar on the transcript process on June 19th, 11 AM -12 PM ET. Register to attend this webinar here.
We continue to monitor the external environment, as we continue to serve higher education, schools, and students.