As teachers, you know better than anyone that GCSEs, AS and A levels are high-stakes qualifications that shape young people's futures. Every decision about how these exams are delivered must start with one question: is this fair for students? That's …
As the summer exams approach we may expect to see, as in previous years, stories about students experiencing test anxiety. Nobody likes to hear of students being anxious and, like others, we want to play our part in helping young …
Test anxiety blog series: 1 Authors: Dr Rob Buck and Professor Kevin Woods Tests and exams in school inform teachers, parents, and students themselves about their academic progress and potential future pathways. But like any situation in which a person’s …
Around England, a sample of schools are about to take the third annual National Reference Test (NRT). This test provides a valuable and unique source of evidence about the performance of year 11 students in English language and maths. From …
Last year we committed to do further work to evaluate the new GCSEs in French, German and Spanish, and to consider whether there was a case for making an adjustment to the grading. There are several strands to this work …
For some years, maths has been the largest entry A level in England. In 2018 around 90,000 students took A level maths, with just over 15,000 also taking A level further maths. The introduction of the new A level was …
The recent reforms to GCSEs and A levels in England were the biggest in a generation. The new qualifications have been introduced in phases, with the first awarded to students in 2017. This summer is a major milestone in the …
At Ofqual, and regardless of the weather, our minds are always on the summer. We’re either thinking about the summer exam series just gone or the one to come. Sometimes we’re thinking about the series after that. We’re not alone. …
Some of you will remember the announcement we made in August 2018, that we were allowing exam boards to award an exceptional grade 3-3 on the higher tier of GCSE combined science, along with a full-width safety net grade 4-3. …
Penalties issued to GCSE and A level students bringing mobile phones into the exam hall increased by 22% in 2018 compared with 2017. Yet we know that Exams Officers use a range of ways to tell students about this important …
Virtually all school and college staff become aware of exams in May and June, even if only because certain areas are barricaded off with signs requesting silence and consideration. The temptation may be, when those signs disappear, to ask your …