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ePolitix.com Stakeholders comment on Ofqual's standards reviews and qualification monitoring reports.
Kathleen Tattersall, chairwoman of Ofqual, said: "Asregulator it is our job to monitor qualifications and report ourfindings openly and honestly. I am reassured by the reports onmathematics and English literature which show that standards havegenerally been maintained and that the system is generally in goodhealth. However, the science reports are clearly a cause for concern.
"Our monitoring shows that the revisions to the GCSE sciencecriteria in 2005 have led to a fall in the quality of scienceassessments. Ofqual has taken action to ensure the quality of the 2009exams is appropriate, the awarding bodies have agreed to implement arange of actions in response to the report and significant progress hasalready been made on this front.
"GCSE is an important and worthy examination which has successfullystimulated and motivated students of all abilities for over 20 yearsand it needs to continue to do so, particularly in national curriculumsubjects where it is the main means of assessment at the end of keystage 4. QCA is reviewing the GCSE science criteria with a view to newspecifications being in centres ready for first teaching in 2011.Science is a vitally important subject and it is essential that thesenew criteria and specifications should engage and challenge alllearners, particularly the most able. Lessons learned over the last twoyears from the implementation of the new science criteria have informedthe development of the revised GCSE criteria and specifications thatstudents will be studying in a range of subjects from 2009.
"We shall focus our standards reviews this year on other sciencesubjects at GCSE level, including biology and chemistry, and theoutcomes of this work will feed into the development of the newcriteria.
"It is absolutely essential that standards remain consistent fromyear to year and across awarding bodies. As an independent regulator wehave identified concerns, reported them publicly and taken action toput matters right to ensure that students, parents and teachers cancontinue to have confidence in the results that they receive."
Stakeholder Response: Assessment and Qualification Alliance
Dr Mike Cresswell, director general of AQA, said: "As Ofqual hasidentified, awarding bodies have already addressed the issues that needaddressing in preparation for this summer's exams.
"What we require now is reassurance from Ofqual that they do indeedhave the relevant information, expertise and power to maintain gradingstandards over time and to ensure comparability of standards betweenawarding bodies.
"What students need is immediate clarity from Ofqual on how they intend to rule on GCSE Science standards for this summer."
Stakeholder Response: National Union of Teachers
Christine Blower, acting general secretary of the National Union ofTeachers, said: "Although Ofqual have taken an in-depth and thoroughapproach to whether the specifications for GCSE science and physics aresufficiently secure, it has to be careful that it does not undermineconfidence in the qualifications already gained by students.
"Thereis sometimes a perception amongst teachers that standards are notalways consistent between different examination boards and the subjectsthey offer. There is every argument for examiners from differentawarding bodies to observe each others' awarding meetings and byco-operating achieving overall consistency. Ofqual has a clear role infacilitating this development.
"We also need to see Ofqual bring in teachers' organisations at amuch earlier stage if there is emerging anxiety about whether aqualification is secure enough in its standard."
Stakeholder Response: NASUWT
Chris Keates, general secretary of the NASUWT, said: "The latestreports from Ofqual confirm that there are, on the whole, nosignificant problems with GCSE and A-level exams on the whole.
"I welcome the fact that the Ofqual chairwoman has highlighted andaffirmed the value of GCSEs in her letter to the minister, Jim Knight.
"There are clearly issues that have been identified concerning GCSEand A-level physics exams. There is no getting away from the findingthat in some GCSE and A-level physics exams, the level of demand wastoo low.
"Clearly the awarding bodies failed to develop broad and engagingassessment activities to provide pupils with the opportunities todemonstrate the full range of their knowledge and skills.Ofqual isright to have directed attention to these deficiencies. The reportshighlight concerns about the differences in practice between awardingbodies and the potential problems this creates.
"This confirms the NASUWT's long-held view that in a coherent,unified national qualifications system it makes no sense for criticalaspects of examinations, such as their content and administration, tobe hived off to a group of awarding bodies who then tout for businessfrom schools and colleges.
"The government should use the opportunity presented by Ofqual'sfindings to examine the case for reforming the current system ofawarding bodies and to consider adopting the Scottish model of asingle, democratically accountable body, located firmly within thepublic sector."
Dods Parliamentary Communications Ltd
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