A-levels | Schools Week

Ofqual consults on changes to reformed music and dance qualifications

Ofqual has launched a consultation into proposed changes to the reformed GCSEs, AS and A-levels in music and dance, after their first delivery this summer exposed issues with how to assess pupils’ performances. The exams watchdog wants to change the way a student’s performance is marked if it turns out to be shorter than the minimum length; […]

Ofqual told to minimise fears around tests cheating

A behavioural-insights team commissioned by Ofqual to help it handle messaging around cheating and malpractice urged the regulator not to overplay the problem. Two companies called EdCom and Now advised Ofqual to avoid making it look as if exams malpractice is “rife”, according to an executive director at the watchdog. The advice was focused on […]

DfE launches consultation on content of reformed PE qualifications

The Department for Education has launched a consultation on the subject content of the reformed physical education (PE) GCSE, AS and A-levels. Members of the public can complete an online survey that will allow them to propose any new activities that they believe should be included as part of the qualifications. The activity lists at […]

A-level results 2018: subject tables

To see how your students have done in their A-levels compared to other students nationwide, Education Datalab has produced a handy set of graphs with accompanying analysis. You can explore trends in national entry and attainment data between 2014 and 2018, for each subject, and overall. Here are the tables for all subjects combined. You […]

Edexcel allows exam candidates to opt out of gender classifications

Pupils taking exams this summer have been offered the chance to opt out of gender classifications for the first time. Pearson, the education company that owns the exam board Edexcel, made the step forward, by presenting candidates with the option of removing the male or female classification for their qualifications. The idea of a gender-neutral […]

Edexcel grade boundaries leaked ahead of A-level results day

The grade boundaries for A-level exams set by the exam board Edexcel have been leaked online, a day ahead of the results being released. The sharing of information flies in the face of a decision made by all exam boards last August to only make the grade boundaries for GCSE and A-level exams available to […]

Ofqual mulls grading change for language and science A-levels

Ofqual is considering a change to the grading of A levels in modern languages and the sciences, if it finds the subjects are more severely marked than others. Speaking at Ofqual’s summer symposium in London today, Richard Garrett, director of policy and strategic relationships, explained that the regulator is exploring ‘inter-subject comparability’, or whether it […]

A third of state schools allow pupils to opt out of languages in year 9

Over a third of state schools now allow pupils to opt out of studying a language in year 9, a new report has revealed. In fact, 34.5 per cent of state schools are not teaching modern foreign languages (MFL) to entire groups of students at that level, up from 29 per cent in 2017 and […]

AS entries fall by 60 per cent

AS-level entries continued to plummet this year, continuing a trend triggered by reforms which mean AS-levels no longer count towards pupils final grades. AS entries fell by 60 per cent compared to 2017, having fallen by 42 per cent between 2016 and 2017 – the first year where new reformed subjects no longer counted. A-level entries also decreased […]