Practical Science
Practical work and experimentation is at the heart of science. It matters to science students, their teachers and their future universities and employers. But A level students do not always...
A levels and GCSEs
Setting standards
Students will be sitting exams for new GCSEs in maths, English literature and English language for the first time in the summer of 2017. We want to be clear with...
Making a mark…
We published our final report into exam marking last week. It’s a good piece of work, worth a read to get a full sense of what is going on. Perhaps...
Happy New Year – and an outlook for 2014
Hello all and Happy New Year. I wish you all the best for 2014. Like many of you, we are facing another busy and challenging year. Qualifications reform will continue...
Our A level consultation
Last week we launched our latest consultation on A level reform. It covers a number of important issues, including our proposals for the role of non-exam assessment in the subjects...
Our announcement on speaking and listening assessments
As we expected, our decision to stop speaking and listening assessments from counting towards final marks in GCSE English and English language has disappointed many teachers. We understand this. It...
GCSE Results – a view from the Chief Regulator
Looking back on last week, the story around GCSE results feels different this year. I hope people think that Ofqual and the exam boards did a good job setting out...
Some thoughts on the A level results
I have been able to take some time to reflect on the A level results published last week, and the way they have been received. We can see a very...
Chief Regulator Glenys Stacey looks ahead to GCSE and A level results
A level and GCSE results days are nearly upon us, and we are seeing the inevitable speculation that happens every year at this time. There is more speculation than usual...
Setting the bar
The Times Educational Supplement recently included an in-depth look at GCSE results and the subject of how we use what has become known as comparable outcomes, asking whether rising results...