Ofqual is today (14 September) launching a series of eight ‘postcards’ to help students, teachers and parents understand its work and the reforms being made to GCSEs, AS and A levels in England.
The cards, which have been sent to every secondary-level school and college in England, and are available online, cover:
- GCSE, AS and A level reforms
- the new GCSE grading structure
- how grades are set
- the National Reference Test
- grade enquiries and appeals
- improvements to science practicals
- changes to spoken language in English language
- the work of Ofqual
Chris Shadforth, Associate Director for Communications, said:
This project is part of our on-going commitment to improve understanding of the assessment system in England, and the important role Ofqual plays.
We’ve noticed in our conversations with teachers and schools, and in our engagement on social media, that there is a demand for succinct, clear explanations of the reforms being undertaken and where responsibilities in the education system begin and end. We’re also looking to use the postcards to debunk some myths, such as the extent of regrading in the exam system and how science practicals will be assessed in future.
We welcome feedback on today’s postcards and would like to know if there are any other areas of our work that we can demystify with a postcard.
The postcards are available on Ofqual’s website and via its social media channels:
Suggestions and ideas for more postcards should be submitted to Ofqual via Twitter (@ofqual).
If you need more information on individual subjects, take a look at our GCSE lookup table. We will publish a similar table for AS and A levels soon.