Press Release

Ofqual publishes standards reviews and qualification monitoring reports

27 March 2009

Ofqual today published the following regulatory reports on standards and qualifications.

Review of standards: A level physics, 2001 – 2007 and GCSE physics, 2002 – 2007
Review of standards: A level mathematics, 2004 – 2007
Review of standards: GCSE English Literature, 2000 – 2007
GCSE science monitoring report, 2007-2008
GCSE mathematics monitoring report, 2008

The mathematics and English literature reports were reassuring, concluding that standards had generally been maintained. Our monitoring identified minor issues and actions are being taken to address any concerns.

The results of our monitoring of the new GCSE science specifications in 2007 and 2008 and the review of standards in GCSE physics in 2007 raised significant causes for concern.

We are therefore requiring immediate action from the awarding bodies and their Chief Examiners to address our concerns about assessment so that students, their parents, teachers, government and the wider public can continue to have confidence in the quality of assessment and the grades awarded. Awarding bodies have already taken steps to address the problems about the quality of the tasks set for candidates identified in the Science report. Among these changes, which will impact on the 2009 examinations and beyond, are:

· Improved quality of questions, to stretch and challenge all students

· Work, including further training for senior examiners, to improve the quality of objective tests

· Tighter marking criteria to ensure that only the answers deserving of the marks are credited

· Some internal assessment tasks have been revised to ensure better challenge to students and a closer link to the practical work. These changes took effect from last September.

· Where possible within the existing specifications, the number of options available to candidates has been reduced.

To ensure standards in the longer term the following actions are being taken:

QCA is revising the GCSE science criteria and new specifications will be developed for first teaching in 2011. Ofqual has asked that the new criteria take on board the concerns raised in our report and the new specifications will adhere to the current GCSE qualifications criteria, including the limit of one re-sit per unit.

Ofqual will set out its expectations in detail to the awarding bodies to ensure that awarding bodies set grade standards that are at an appropriate level and in line with national standards.

Ofqual is reviewing future question papers for units that were of particular concern to ensure that they are valid and reliable assessments. This review will particularly consider the opportunities provided for more able candidates to show what they know, understand and can do.

On publishing the report Kathleen Tattersall, Chair of Ofqual, said:

'As regulator it is our job to monitor qualifications and report our findings openly and honestly. I am reassured by the reports on mathematics and English literature which show that standards have generally been maintained and that the system is generally in good health. However, the science reports are clearly a cause for concern.

'Our monitoring shows that the revisions to the GCSE science criteria in 2005 have led to a fall in the quality of science assessments. Ofqual has taken action to ensure the quality of the 2009 exams is appropriate, the awarding bodies have agreed to implement a range of actions in response to the report and significant progress has already been made on this front.

"GCSE is an important and worthy examination which has successfully stimulated and motivated students of all abilities for over 20 years and it needs to continue to do so, particularly in national curriculum subjects where it is the main means of assessment at the end of key stage 4. QCA is reviewing the GCSE science criteria with a view to new specifications being in centres ready for first teaching in 2011. Science is a vitally important subject and it is essential that these new criteria and specifications should engage and challenge all learners, particularly the most able. Lessons learned over the last two years from the implementation of the new science criteria have informed the development of the revised GCSE criteria and specifications that students will be studying in a range of subjects from 2009.

"We shall focus our standards reviews this year on other science subjects at GCSE level, including biology and chemistry, and the outcomes of this work will feed into the development of the new criteria.

"It is absolutely essential that standards remain consistent from year to year and across awarding bodies. As an independent regulator we have identified concerns, reported them publicly and taken action to put matters right to ensure that students, parents and teachers can continue to have confidence in the results that they receive."