The education secretary has confirmed that there will be no GCSE, AS, or A-Level exams this summer in England and that grades will be awarded by teacher assessment. “This year we’re going to put our trust in teachers, rather than algorithms,” UK education secretary Gavin Williamson told the House of Commons on Jan. 6 in a reference to last year’s widely-criticized process of awarding grades. Williamson’s address to lawmakers was made two days after the government had announced a new national lockdown in England, and declared all schools would be closed until at least mid-February. He said that the details of how assessments would be carried out needed to be fine-tuned in consultation with teaching organizations and Ofqual, the exam regulator. “I wish to use a form of teacher assessed grades, with training and support provided to ensure these are awarded fairly and consistently across the country,” he said. With …