1. Lucy Rimmington
Senior Manager
Strategic Relationships
Ofqual
GCSE and A Level
Qualification Reforms

2. Contents
Responsibilities for qualifications
What is happening, when?
New GCSE grading
Changes to A levels
Changes to practical Science
Resits
Information about my school
Summer 2016 awarding
Changes to marking reviews and appeals

3. Responsibilities for Qualifications
Government:
Policy, purposes and priorities
Curriculum and subject content
(Use of Qualifications for Accountability Purposes)
Ofqual:
Standards
Efficiency and value
Oversight of the system
Exam Boards:
Design and Delivery

4. GCSEs and A levels are changing
GCSEs and A levels are being reformed, to match the best systems in the world and keep pace with universities’ and employers’ demands.
GCSEs will still be suitable for all abilities, but with more challenging content.
A levels will allow more time for learning and better prepare students for higher education.
AS level will be stand alone qualifications to reduce exam burden on students and teachers
GCSEs will be graded on a new scale of 9 – 1 rather than A* - G.
The definition of a ‘good pass’ at GCSE is also changing and will be set at a grade 5 this will be harder to achieve but students will not be disadvantages because universities and colleges will set own entry requirements

5. What is happening, when?

6. When do these reforms happen for GCSE students?
Level
Start course in 2015, exams 2017
Start course in 2016, exams 2018
Start course in 2017, exams 2019
Start course in 2018, exams 2020
GCSE
English literature, English language and maths only
English and maths plus…
Art and design, Biology, Chemistry, Citizenship studies, Computer science, Dance, Drama, Combined Science, Food Preparation and Nutrition, French, Geography, German, Greek, History, Latin, Music, Physical education, Physics, Religious studies (and short course), Spanish.
2015 and 2016 subject plus…
Ancient history, Arabic , Astronomy, Bengali, Business, Chinese, Classical civilisation, Design and technology, Economics , Electronics, Engineering, Film Studies, Geology, Italian, Japanese, Media studies , Modern Greek, Modern Hebrew, PE short course, Polish, Psychology , Punjabi, Russian, Sociology, Statistics, Urdu
All subjects
Including lesser taught languages
What is happening?
The new GCSEs are being reformed, and taught and awarded for the first time and awarded over several years between 2015 and 2020.
Some subjects including English language, English literature and maths GCSEs will be taught from 2015 with exams in There will be more new qualifications taught to students in September 2016 and 2017.
Why?
English and Maths had a lot of changes made to content and this work started first, so they were the first to be reformed.
How will this affect students?
Students in year 10 and 11 in September 2016
These students will sit a mixture of new and old GCSEs, subjects affected are outlined in the table above. The first reformed GCSEs in English Language, English Literature and Mathematics, and legacy exams in all other GCSE subjects. Both the legacy and reformed qualifications will be valued in the same way by employers, sixth forms and colleges. This means that their exam certificates will have mixture of numbers and letters on them employers, sixth forms and colleges will be accepting these. This is covered in greater detail on slide 16.
Students in year 9 in September 2016
If a two year KS4, these students will be choosing their GCSE options completely in the reformed qualifications, with the exception of the lesser taught languages in the purple box. If a three year KS4 these students will be continuing the courses in reformed qualifications. Their GCSE certificates will all be awarded in numbers, with the same exception.
Students in year 8 in September 2016
If a three year KS4, these students will be entirely choosing their options in the reformed qualifications and all their GCSEs will be awarded in numbers.
If a two year KS4, these students will be choosing their options in the reformed qualifications next year.

7. When do these reforms happen for A and AS level students?
Start course in 2015, exams 2017
Start course in 2016, exams 2018
Start course in 2017, exams 2019
Start course in 2018, exams 2020
AS and A Level
English language
English literature
English (lang and lit)
Biology
Chemistry
Physics
Psychology
Computer science
Business
History
Art and design
Economics
Sociology
2015 subjects plus…
Geography, Modern foreign languages, Ancient languages,
Religious studies, Drama and theatre, Dance, Music, Physical education
2015 and 2016 subject plus…
Maths, Further Maths, Accounting, Ancient History, Classical Civilisation, Design and Technology, Electronics, Environmental Science, Film Studies, Geology, History of Art, Law, Maths, Media Studies, Music Technology, Philosophy, Politics, Statistics
All subjects
Including less taught languages
What is happening?
New AS and A levels are being reformed, and taught and awarded for the first time and awarded over several years between 2015 and 2020.
A lot of subjects including English, the sciences and history A levels will be taught from 2015 with exams in There will be more new qualifications taught to students in September 2016 and 2017.
How will this affect students?
Students in year 12 and 13 in September 2016
These students will sit a mix of new and old AS and A levels – the subjects affected are outlined in the table above. Depending on the school they may have or will sit AS qualifications at the end of year 12, but some will just take the full two year linear A level.

8. New GCSEs – Summary of Changes
Content New and more demanding content
Structure All exams at the end of the course
Assessment Mainly by examination
Coursework only where necessary
Grading New numbered scale (9 to 1 plus U) New ‘good pass’ set at grade 5
Tiering Foundation and higher tier used
only where necessary

9. New GCSE Grading

10. New GCSE Grading Structure
A new scale of 9-1
Top Grade – for 20% of
all students getting 7 and above
In the first year, the
same proportion of students will:
achieve a grade 7 and above as currently get A and above
achieve a grade 4 and above as currently get C and above

11. GCSE Awarding – Grades 8 and 9
Subject
Entry
(000)
Grade A* %
Grade 9 (modified 20% rule)
English
521
3.1
2.1
English literature
436
4.9
2.6
Mathematics
761
6.1
2.5
Geography
228
9.2
5.5
History
247
9.6
Biology
139
13.2
11.7
Chemistry
134
15.9
12.4
Physics
15.1
12.3
Science
395
0.8
0.7
Additional science
333
1.9
1.3
French
158 10
4.6
German 54
8.5
4.3
Spanish 91
13.8
6.3
Classical Greek 1
66.9
42.0
Latin 9
48.6
32.2
Art and design
195
8.9
4.2
Business studies 96 3
2.7
Design & technology
205
5.1
Drama 76
Media studies 62
3.3
2.3
Music 48
9.1
6.9
Physical education
121
3.4
Religious studies
296
10.8
6.5
Statistics 56
How will Grades 8 and 9 compare to A*?
A ‘20% rule’ applied to the number
of students getting a 7and above
Greater number of 7s in a subject will
mean proportionately higher number of 9s
Table illustrates what it might look like
(2015 results converted to new grade 9)
Grade 8 boundary will be set arithmetically
half-way between 7 and 9.
We are consulting on this approach
Based on 2015 GCSE results

12. GCSE ‘Good Pass’
The government’s definition of a GCSE ‘good pass’ is changing. This is to;
Raise aspirations to respond to the needs of employers of universities
Match the expectations set in other top-performing countries
Hold schools and the government to account
A GCSE ‘good pass’ for school accountability purposes will be set at grade 5 – which will be positioned in the top third of the marks for the current grade C and the bottom third of grade B.
This means it will be harder to achieve than the current grade C and we expect the numbers of students achieving a good pass to be lower than current levels.
Individual young people will not be disadvantaged - employers, colleges and universities will continue to define their own expectations for the level of GCSE grade needed to meet their requirements.

13. What a GCSE Certificate might look like in 2017
THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT
In the examinations held In June 2017,
Joe Bloggs, DOB,
achieved the following results
at XXX School
Full Course (5 Subjects)
Drama Grade B
English Language Grade 4 merit
Geography Grade A
Mathematics Grade 6
Physics Grade D
XXXX
Exam Board Signature

14. The National Reference Test
Designed to inform awarding GCSE
Preliminary test March 2016
First live test 2017
Could be used 2018 and beyond
Students and schools do not get results
Different schools selected each year:
300 schools
30 students in each school

15. Changes to A Levels

16. New A Level - Summary of changes
Content Changes to prepare students for university
Structure All exams at the end of the two-year course Marks from the AS don’t count towards the A level
Assessment Mainly by examination
Coursework only where necessary
Demand Broadly same as current A levels
Grading Remains A* to E plus U
A separate grade for science practical work

17. New AS level - Summary of changes
Content Drawn from the new A level content
Structure AS is now a separate qualification with the marks no longer counting towards A level
May not be offered in all subjects
Taught over 1 or 2 years
Exam at end of the course
Assessment Most subjects have no coursework
Demand Broadly same as current AS levels
Grading Remains A to E plus U

18. Changes to Practical Science

19. Removing Controlled Assessment - Science
A level:
More practicals – 12 in each science subject
Written questions about practical work will make up at least 15% of the total marks for the qualification
Students will need to record their experiments as they do them
Practicals will be reported separately
(pass/not classified)
Practical ‘pass’ for A level science likely to be required by universities – check admissions information.
GCSE:
Students do at least 8 practical activities (16 for Combined Science) covering specific techniques
Written questions about practical work will make up at least 15% of the total marks for the qualification
There will be no separate grade for practical skills
Students studying combined Science will receive grades from 1-1 to 9-9

20. Resits

21. Resits for legacy qualifications
AS and A Levels resits available for all subjects in May or June of the year following the last legacy exam.
GCSE resits available for:
English, English language and maths both in November 2016 and in summer 2017
All science and additional science qualifications (not individual sciences) in or before summer 2018
Exam boards may also offer resits in any other subject – including Biology, Chemistry and Physics – in the year after the last sitting.
Resits are for those students who have taken the qualification previously, or who had good reason not to have taken it when planned. At GCSE, anyone can take these assessments too.  

22. Resits for reformed qualifications
Students will be able to resit GCSE maths and English in a November exam series. This series is for resits and those aged over 16 only
For all other GCSE and all A/AS levels, as now, students resit by taking the qualification again the following year

23. Information About My School

24. What information can I find out about my school?
Secondary school/key stage 4 measures:
New focus on pupil progress – Progress 8
Pupil results are splits into 4 categories – English; maths; three of either science, computer science, history, geography and languages; and then any other three subjects.
Encouraging a broad and balanced curriculum with strong emphasis on an academic core – EBacc measure, attainment 8 and good pass in English and Math
The EBacc measure measures the percentage of pupils who achieve A*-C or 1-5 in the new GCSEs, in English, Maths, Science (including computer science), history or geography, and a language.

25. What information can I find out about my school?
Post-16 school/college measures:
Secure sharper accountability to raise standards for all students
Provide clear, reliable information for parents and students
Offer comparable measures between schools and colleges

26. Summer 2016 awarding

27. AS - what this means for schools and colleges
We are not changing the standard for AS (or A level in 2017) – in general, a student who would have got a B in previous years ought to get a B this summer
Exam boards will use predictions (based on GCSE prior attainment) to guide their awards
Grades A*, A and E will be key grade boundaries – set using predictions, with senior examiners making a check of students’ work
No UMS – decoupling means there is no need for UMS which helped standardise results across units, qualifications and boards in a modular system
No need for a ‘rule’ to achieve A*

28. Changes to marking reviews and appeals

29. Quality of Marking and Enquiries about results
4,835,712 GCSEs awarded
782,325 A levels awarded
1,286,125 AS awarded
2,266,075 total UK undergraduate and postgraduate students in 2014/15 (HESA)
….Usually Just below grade boundary

30. Decisions
Consulted December to March – decisions were announced on 26 May
Aim to make the systems schools and colleges use to challenge GCSE, AS and A level results in England clearer, more consistent, and fairer for all students.
Changes are underpinned by research which shows inconsistency in how marks have been reviewed in the past. This is unfair on those students who do not ask for a review of their marks.
Mark changes will only be permitted in future where there is a marking error.

31. Decisions
Ofqual has held extensive consultation with schools’ groups, subject associations, teachers and students.
We have listened carefully to their views and decided that from this summer exam boards:
must tell examiners who review results that they should not change marks unless there is a clear marking error
must monitor their reviewers to make sure that they are acting consistently
must continue to make AS and A level scripts available to those schools who want them ahead of the closing date for reviews and will be able to choose to do the same for GCSE scripts
will have to categorise the reasons about why a result has or has not been changed and, when requested to do so, provide this information to the centre or student

32. Decisions
A pilot exercise will also be run this summer in 3 A level subjects (maths, geography and religious studies).
In these subjects, the grounds for appeal following a review will be extended to enable schools to appeal the mark a student was given if the school believes a marking error was not corrected during the review.
Ofqual will evaluate the impact of, and outcomes from, the pilot and decide in whether, and in what form, to roll this out more widely.

33. Lucy.rimmington@ofqual.gov.uk @Teacher_Ofqual