Students’ practical skills in A level science courses are now assessed in two ways: indirectly using questions in written examinations and directly through teacher observation and assessment. The latter results in a ‘practical endorsement’ grade for each student (Pass/Unclassified) that …
We have said that exam boards will rely more heavily on predictions this year for the new qualifications. But how are the predictions generated? And what do we mean by prediction matrices?
Grade 9 is not the same as A*; it’s a new grade, designed to recognise the very highest performing students. So there will be fewer grade 9s than there are currently A*s. And in the first year grade 9 will be calculated arithmetically.
There are many elements to get right with new apprenticeships, including defining clearly what an apprentice should be learning and designing appropriate assessments to test the knowledge, skills and behaviours apprentices are expected develop. With many organisations involved it is important that we work together.
You may be familiar with the rules for setting A* in the current A levels: students must get enough UMS marks to achieve a grade A overall and achieve 90% or more of the UMS marks at A2. This rule …
We often talk about creating a level playing field for students taking their GCSEs, AS and A levels, regardless of which exam board they enter with. That’s our aim this summer, in both reformed and unreformed qualifications. Our priority is …
There are 3 myths we commonly hear about our work: GCSEs used to be criterion referenced, my school can’t improve because of Ofqual’s approach and there is a cap on the number of each grade awarded. Here's why they're not true.
None of these is true.
How Ofqual will make sure this year's A level students are not unfairly disadvantaged.
Today we had a meeting with a small group of mathematicians - bloggers, subject association representatives, teachers and others - all with an interest in the new GCSE. We talked about the changes to GCSE maths this summer: more content, more demanding …
This month is the deadline for schools to enter students for this summer’s new GCSEs, including maths. They’ll already know which specification they’re teaching, but there is also the choice of which tier to enter students. For those less familiar …
Would you believe someone who told you now that they could predict, to 1 degree Celsius, the temperature on the day your students get their GCSE results this summer? Perhaps not. You might expect they could get reasonably close, based on previous …
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