November 2017 exams and summer series 2018
I am sure many of you reading this blog will already be focussed on next summer’s GCSE and A level exam series, and first awarding of more new qualifications. Below are a few points of potential...
View ArticleNavigating the qualifications landscape
At Ofqual’s recent employer event we spoke about the regulated qualifications landscape and what we’re doing to help people navigate it. We have now updated some of the charts we used at that event to...
View ArticleGCSE and A level awarding in 2018
We, like schools and colleges, are already looking ahead to this summer’s exams. This year there are more new AS and A level subjects and 9 to 1 GCSEs being awarded for the first time. They include the...
View ArticleGCSE grade boundaries in 2018
Grade boundaries for GCSEs and A levels are never set in advance of the exams being taken, for a variety of reasons. A key one is that it is impossible to judge precisely how difficult students will...
View ArticleNew GCSEs in French, German and Spanish
Among the new GCSEs being awarded for the first time this year are French, German and Spanish. These qualifications are different from the previous versions in several ways, which I’ll discuss first....
View ArticleTeachers' views on GCSE maths tier entries in 2018
In the run up to the first exams in the new GCSE maths, we knew that one of the issues worrying schools was choices about which tier to enter students for. In early 2017, we asked GCSE maths teachers...
View ArticleGCSE 9 to 1 grades: a brief guide for parents
If you have children in year 11 taking GCSEs this year, many of their results will be reported on the new grade scale which runs from 9 (the highest grade) to 1 (the lowest grade). Here’s a brief guide...
View Article5 questions and concerns answered about new 9 to1 GCSE grading
This week we’re addressing some of the common questions and concerns posted in response to our recent Facebook updates and blogs. ‘New GCSEs are very hard’ We have seen quite a few comments about new...
View ArticleSetting standards in the new A level maths qualifications
This summer we will see the first awards of the new A level maths qualifications. These were available for schools to teach from September 2017, so they would not normally be available to enter after...
View ArticleGrading the new GCSE science qualifications
The new GCSE science qualifications can be taken in different ways – students can take single GCSEs in one or more of biology, chemistry and physics, or they can take a double GCSE in combined science....
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