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Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation
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The New GCE A Level Examinations: Findings from the Monitoring of the New Qualifications 2009
In 2009 and 2010, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) monitored a sample of the new GCE AS and A level qualifications respectively offered by the three England-based unitary awarding organisations: AQA, Edexcel and OCR. The six subjects addressed were: English Literature and Geography for AQA; Physics and Spanish for Edexcel; and Design and Technology, and History for OCR. These new qualifications were for first teaching from September 2008.
The main structural changes that were made to the A level qualifications as a whole were:
• a reduction in the number of units for most subjects from three to two
• the inclusion of coursework only where it is the soundest method of assessment
• the introduction of greater stretch and challenge in the assessments for A2 units
• the introduction of an A* grade at overall subject level.
In general, Ofqual concluded that these new specifications and their assessments were appropriately demanding for A2, with suitable progression from AS evident, as well as presenting a suitable degree of stretch and challenge. There were appropriate opportunities in most cases for candidates of different levels of ability to demonstrate, and be credited for, what they knew, understood and could do. There were some issues with AS.
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