Ofqual boss’s algorithm malfunction

Gavin Williamson has taken a lot of stick for the A-level exams debacle, but Mr Steerpike thinks we should perhaps look to Roger Taylor, the chair of Ofqual, who also happens to be head of the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation.

Not many people think that using an algorithm to decide exam results was the best option, but it becomes even more questionable when you realise that Taylor led a study last year, warning of algorithms propensity to ‘make decisions which reinforce pre-existing social inequalities’.

The study states: ‘concerns are growing that without proper oversight, algorithms risk entrenching and potentially worsening bias.’

Unfortunately, concerns hadn’t grown enough to prevent Taylor and Ofqual from using an algorithm which downgraded students based on their school’s past academic performance. Just a slight reinforcement of ‘pre-existing social inequalities’…

Mr Steerpike is wondering why Taylor hasn’t been more sympathetic to the plight of this year’s cohort, considering his admission that he messed up his own A-levels. That wasn’t down to a classist algorithm, however (Taylor attended the private King’s School, Canterbury), but because of a self-confessed ‘lack of application’.

In that same interview, Taylor questioned the value of attending private school, saying: ‘I would be really interested to see some evidence about the degree to which you actually get a higher quality of output for your money, compared to the same cohort going through state education.’

Ironically, the algorithm embraced by Ofqual under his leadership has provided some rather compelling evidence of just the ‘higher quality of output’ paying for private school can bring.