A school newsletter line that says “digital assessment” should prompt a parent to ask which subject, which exam series, which tasks move to a screen, and how the student will practise before the assessment. Cambridge reports that its first live digital exams were delivered in 2026 for selected IGCSE subjects and AS Level English General Paper, with wider availability beginning in 2027.
At 8:42pm, Ama was scrolling through her daughter’s school newsletter at the kitchen table in East Legon, one hand around a mug of tea that had gone cold. Between a reminder about sports kit and a notice about end-of-term reports, she found a single sentence: “Selected 2026 IGCSE assessments will be digital.”
Her daughter had IGCSE examinations ahead. The line offered no subject list, no explanation of how the assessment would feel on screen, and no indication of what preparation at home should change. Ama reread it twice, then searched for answers while her daughter finished homework nearby.
The worry was specific. If digital assessment changed how her daughter read sources, managed time, entered answers, or checked work, a study plan built only around familiar paper practice could leave a gap until the exam room. By the time that became clear, the school’s next assessment might already have exposed it.
Start with the exact assessment your child will sit
“Digital assessment” describes a delivery format, not a complete revision plan. A parent needs the school to clarify which qualifications, subjects, components, and exam series are affected.
Cambridge’s 2026 digital delivery began with selected IGCSE subjects and AS Level English General Paper. That wording matters. It does not mean every Cambridge IGCSE assessment has moved to a screen, and it does not tell a family what applies to one student’s timetable. The reliable next step is to check the school’s subject-level information and the current guidance from Cambridge International.
Ask for the details in writing if the newsletter remains broad:
- Which subjects and components will be assessed digitally?
- Is the change scheduled for this student’s examination series?
- What will students use during practice and in the assessment?
- Will they type extended responses, select answers on screen, work with digital source material, or complete calculations in a specified way?
- What school-based practice will happen before the assessment?
These questions help a parent move from a vague announcement to a list a student can prepare against.
Practise the skill that changes when the screen appears
Content knowledge still matters. A student preparing for IGCSE Mathematics must understand the mathematics. A student preparing for English or a humanities subject must still read closely, build an argument, and use evidence. Digital delivery can add practical demands around those academic skills.
Ama’s daughter was comfortable using a laptop for homework. That did not automatically answer the harder questions: Could she keep her place while reading a longer passage on screen? Could she spot an unfinished response before time ran out? Would typing change the pace of a planned answer? Could she use the approved tools confidently under timed conditions?
A useful practice session mirrors the relevant task as closely as the school guidance allows. Start with one short timed activity rather than replacing every paper-based exercise at once. Afterwards, review two things separately: the academic errors and the screen-based process.
A student may understand a question yet lose marks because they rushed past a command word, misread a digital source, or left an answer incomplete. Those are different problems from weak subject knowledge, and they need different support. [A parent’s timed-test clue]( /blog/a-parent-s-timed-test-clue-find-the-error-before-the-clock-runs-down-ebf3dd90/) offers a related way to look for the cause before the clock becomes the whole problem.
Build a plan from evidence, not from the announcement
A broad school message can create either panic or false reassurance. Neither gives a family a plan.
Gather the syllabus, the school’s assessment information, recent marked work, and any teacher comments. Then identify the next point of uncertainty. Perhaps the student needs subject revision. Perhaps they need more timed writing practice. Perhaps they understand the material but have not yet practised the format they are likely to meet.
For a parent arranging additional support, curriculum fit matters here. A tutor should know the student’s Cambridge pathway, current topics, assessment timetable, availability, and learning needs before lessons are planned. This makes it possible to focus a session on a genuine gap, such as interpreting a source under time pressure or strengthening the knowledge behind repeated errors.
Families can also protect time for the changeover. A digital practice task at the end of a long school day may reveal fatigue more than ability. Try one earlier session when possible, then compare the work. The aim is to learn what conditions help the student show what they know.
Turn uncertainty into a short list for the next school conversation
The following morning, Ama had a smaller, clearer task. She wrote down her daughter’s IGCSE subjects, circled the ones mentioned in the school material, and kept a note beside each: confirmed digital, awaiting confirmation, or paper-based. Her daughter later completed a short timed task on a laptop and noticed that she spent too long returning to a passage she had already read.
That observation gave them somewhere real to begin. They could ask the teacher about the expected format, practise navigation alongside subject work, and review whether the issue appeared again.
A newsletter sentence can be the start of preparation. It becomes useful when a parent turns it into subject-specific questions, one realistic practice task, and a record of what the student needs next.
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