Download A levels

12th July 2013
Dear colleagues
As we approach the end of the academic year, I want to make sure you are aware of
some important changes being made to GCSEs and A levels in England in 2013. In
this letter I set out some of the key changes - so that you have the complete picture of
where we are now, and what’s to come.
GCSEs
Science GCSEs
This summer, new qualifications in biology, chemistry, physics, additional science and
additional applied science will be awarded for the first time. These GCSEs are
designed to be more challenging, because the previous syllabuses did not adequately
test the subject content and were not sufficiently demanding. Although we cannot be
sure until results come in, we are expecting a small drop in achievements overall
rather than anything more substantial. The picture may be different school by school.
GCSE assessments
From next year, GCSE students in England will take all their assessments at the end
of their course. Moving to this linear-type structure means that re-sit opportunities will
be limited and students who wish to re-take GCSEs will generally only be able to do so
the following summer. The exception is for GCSE English, English language and
mathematics: students who want to re-take these subjects will be able to do so in
November. From 2014 the November series is for re-sits only and not first time
candidates.
Revised GCSE geography, history and English literature qualifications
Students will be assessed and awarded grades in new geography GCSEs from
summer 2014. Exam boards have developed new qualifications to address concerns
about the breadth and depth of the previous GCSE geography courses.
We found similar concerns with GCSEs in English literature and history, and exam
boards have developed new specifications in these subjects for teaching from this
September. We are considering the exam boards’ proposed specifications. Most of
these have already been signed off (accredited). We are working to make sure the
others are signed off soon.
Speaking and Listening - GCSE English in England
We have consulted on changes to GCSE English in England, which would see marks
for final grades for the qualification calculated from the written papers and the reading
and writing controlled assessments only. Speaking and listening assessment results
would not contribute to the overall grade and would be reported separately on the
GCSE certificate. The weightings of the components would also change, with written
exams counting for 60 per cent of marks.
We’ve proposed that these changes are made from summer 2014, which would mean
changes for students currently in the first year of a two year course. The proposals
should not mean that you would have to change what you teach. The consultation
closed on 7th June and we hope to report on our findings and decisions before the
autumn term starts.
Longer term GCSE reforms
We recently launched our consultation on the reform of GCSEs in England. The
consultation sets out our proposals for the design of reformed qualifications, in line
with the policy ambitions that have been set out by the Secretary of State for
Education.
The proposals would see GCSEs become linear in design, with the modular design
removed and assessments only taking place in the summer. The consultation also
proposes an end to tiering of GCSEs, unless it is the best assessment option for the
subject, and the use of non-exam assessments only where external exams cannot
validly assess the skills and knowledge required. We also propose a change to how
GCSE results are described, with a scale of 1 to 8 used instead of the current grading
structure.
We propose that new qualifications in English language, English literature,
mathematics, chemistry, biology, physics, science (double award), geography and
history should be ready for teaching from September 2015 and for first awarding in
summer 2017. The new qualifications will reflect the subject content and assessment
objectives on which the Department for Education is consulting separately.
Our consultation runs until 3rd September 2013 – we hope you will respond. We are
running consultation events throughout July. Further details and a copy of the
consultation are available on our website: http://comment.ofqual.gov.uk/ .
A levels
January assessments
We announced last autumn that from September 2013 students in England will no
longer be able to sit exams in January, in either their first or second year of A level
studies, because of evidence that this has created a ‘resit culture’. A levels will still be
examined by unit, but all exams will be taken in the summer.
Longer term reforms
The curriculum content requirements of current A levels are being reviewed by exam
boards, using feedback from higher education and the views of teachers and learned
societies, as a result of Government proposals.
Exam boards offering A levels in England are reviewing the content in mathematics
and further mathematics, English (language, literature, language and literature),
physics, chemistry, biology, geography, history, psychology, art and design, business
studies, computing, economics, and sociology.
Ministers have also decided that A levels in England should be fully linear. This means
that all assessment will be undertaken at the end of the course, rather than at the end
of each year of A level study as happens now. The reforms will also see the
introduction of a standalone AS qualification that is “de-coupled” from an A level, so
that results from the new AS will not contribute to the full A level qualification.
At the same time, we are considering whether any changes will be needed to exams
and other assessments as the exam boards come to design the qualifications in the
new linear structure.
After the reviews, the exam boards will recommend whether change is required in any
of their qualifications listed above. We will make and announce our decisions in the
autumn term. Where little or no change is needed, we expect exam boards to start
revising their A level qualifications this year in line with the new assessment structure.
The intention is for these qualifications to be available to schools and colleges in
autumn 2014 and to be ready for first teaching in September 2015.
A levels in other subjects will be revised to a longer timescale to bring them into line
with the new linear structure. We will say more about this in due course.
Timescales
We have published a timeline of changes covering current and new GCSE and A
levels here: http://ofqual.gov.uk/qualifications-and-assessments/qualification-reform/ . I
do hope you find this letter helpful in understanding the changes that are happening to
GCSEs and A levels.
If you have any comments or questions, please do contact our helpdesk on 0300 303
3344 or email [email protected] .
Glenys Stacey
Chief Regulator