Executive summary

Ofqual now has very solid foundations in place and is set to start work formally in April 2010 as an independent non-ministerial government department accountable to Parliament. With the passing of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 Ofqual will become the regulator of qualifications, examinations and assessments in England. Ofqual will be the regulator of vocational qualifications in Northern Ireland.

The importance of establishing and protecting our independence was an important theme of my first report in May this year. With this independence comes the responsibility to act rationally and fairly and be open about the decisions we make. Not only should we aim to set out our requirements in a clear and understandable way, but the thinking behind them should also be opened to scrutiny. In this second report I review what we have done so far and outline our thinking on current issues in assessment.

There is a great focus every year on general qualifications such as GCSEs and A levels. Over the last year Ofqual has worked very closely with awarding organisations on the marking of new style A levels that will culminate in the first awards next summer of the new A* grade. In GCSE science we worked closely to ensure that the results this year were fair and took account of our report into science standards. We are also working with awarding organisations on new modular GCSEs that centres began teaching from September this year.

Vocational and occupational qualifications are valued by thousands of learners and employers in all walks of life and make a vital contribution to the success of the nation. Thousands of vocational and occupational qualifications are achieved every day and in the 12 months to June 2009 a record five million were awarded.

A long-standing problem of our education system has been the perceived lower status of applied, vocationally-oriented qualifications for the 14–19 age range. This was the first year of awards for the new Diplomas, which are a serious attempt to address this problem. They have brought with them new thinking about the meaning of achievement and the time it takes to gain a qualification. All new qualifications have teething troubles that need to be addressed in ways that nurture their development.

In November Ofqual published the regulatory criteria for the full introduction of the functional skills qualifications in English, mathematics and information and communication technology (ICT) for which teaching begins in September 2010. These tests are a compulsory part of the Diploma and learners will be required to have passed in all three subjects before they can receive the full award. They are also free standing qualifications in their own right, intended to replace other assessments in key and basic skills.

Our monitoring of the pilots that have been conducted over the past two years has indicated that the present assessment schemes have some way to go before they can be regarded as fully satisfactory. In the light of the findings of our studies awarding organisations have been asked to take appropriate measures to ensure that the assessments meet the requirements laid out in the standards.

In national curriculum tests we were pleased that 99.9 per cent of key stage 2 test results were delivered on time in early July, a significant achievement following the problems of 2008. We have looked closely at the key stage 2 English test from 2009, and our reliability programme has published a report about the reliability of the key stage 2 science tests over recent years. Ofqual has a significant new role in the early years foundation stage (EYFS) that we will be developing following consultation.

Although we carry forward the regulatory work of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), Ofqual is not just ‘more of the same’; we are a new body with different duties and powers. The Act that brings Ofqual into being shifts the focus of regulation from the requirement to consider and accredit every single qualification to a broader approach that regulates the awarding organisations and holds them responsible for the provision of high-quality examinations and assessments.

Ofqual’s focus will be on providing a structure within which the awarding organisations can operate successfully and on using our monitoring and enforcement powers when necessary to ensure that standards are maintained. We are formally consulting on how we should do this.

The views of learners matter hugely to Ofqual. We know that their future is determined by the qualifications and tests that we regulate. Our principle is that qualifications, tests and assessments must facilitate good learning, not dominate or distort it. A regulator should look well beyond the immediate future. Children born in 2009 will, according to government policy, remain in education and training until at least 2027. They may be working until at least 2074 and many can expect to live into the 22nd century. The assessment system we are devising now must be able to provide a firm basis for the changes that are bound to take place over that time.

It is clear that technology is second nature to today’s learners. To help build Britain's future they must be allowed to embrace its potential and maximise the new opportunities it provides for them to demonstrate their achievements. The use of computers in assessment raises issues of central concern to the regulator, but it is essential to deal with the challenge rather than hide from it.

We also need to recognise that constant change destabilises the system and discourages investment. Awarding organisations, on whose expertise and commitment the system depends, may well choose not to invest in the development of new forms of assessment if the likelihood exists that, even before the changes have had a chance to settle down, the whole system will be reorganised and their investment wasted. It is for the regulator to do what it can within its sphere of influence to safeguard the stability of the system. A key objective for Ofqual is to build public confidence in qualifications and some stability in the system will help us achieve this.

While my responsibilities as Chief Regulator require me to maintain the standards of what we have currently, I must also encourage those who provide assessments to look forward so that the qualifications system remains relevant to society. Other performance standards, therefore, might relate to how assessments are carried out to effect a transformation from examinations that are largely paper-based to those in which candidates respond using computers. The system must change to reflect the society in which we live. We must look to what the future holds for the young people for whom we are now designing qualifications. We must ensure that our investments – especially in an era of financial constraint – yield qualifications and processes that are fit for purpose and are of the highest quality.

Such an approach might give considerable scope for improving services to learners and to their places of learning, encouraging innovation and making best use of the professionalism and expertise of the awarding organisations.
It is an approach to which we will give considerable thought and one on which I would welcome views.

So here are some suggestions for a longer term approach to the qualifications and assessments system.

• We need to ensure that our curricula (both in schools and in the workplace) are appropriate as a basis for the education and training of people of all ages but particularly the young, who will be living in a very different world from ours. The qualifications and assessments they face should facilitate their learning, progress and future success.
• We need to invest more in the training of examiners and assessors to equip them with the skills to assess diverse curricula in new and exciting but valid and reliable ways.
• We need to reduce the complexity of the qualifications system while ensuring that there is sufficient flexibility for learners to have a reasonable amount of choice.
• As well as thoroughly piloting any new assessment models, we should require all questions and tasks to be pre-tested to ensure that they are fit for purpose and produce informative responses.
• We need to ensure that the means of assessment are fit for their purpose and make the best use of technology.

All these suggestions have implications for awarding organisations, schools, colleges, employers, higher education and for the government. They would also have cost implications. I would welcome your views on how we should move forward.