Select Committee on Education and Skills Third Report


SUMMER 2002

  20. A level results published on 15 August 2002 showed a rise in the pass rate (A-E grades) compared to 2001 from 89.8 % to 94.3 % and a rise in A grades from 18.6 % to 20.7 %, an achievement praised by Ministers.[26] Concern about the 'fixing' of grades and the marking down of some students was reported in the press on 1 September 2002. Initial concern centred on one board, OCR (Oxford, Cambridge and RSA Examinations), and on examinations in the humanities and social sciences. The concern grew throughout September, as more schools and students requested re-marks and went to the press about unexpected results.

  21. In response to the rising concerns over the allocation of A level grades, the then Secretary of State, Estelle Morris made a statement on 19 September 2002 stating that no Minister had been involved in any aspect of marking, assessing or grading students.[27] She stated that she had requested a report from QCA into the grading of certain course work units in the 2002 OCR examinations as there had been a considerable increase in complaints about the 2002 examinations set by that board. She also announced a two part inquiry by Mike Tomlinson into the allegations of grade fixing. The Secretary of State sacked Sir William Stubbs, Chairman of the QCA, on 27 September, following a public dispute over actions taken by the DfES prior to the publication of Tomlinson's interim report.[28]

The Tomlinson inquiry

  22. Mike Tomlinson's interim report was published on 27 September 2002. He recommended an examination of the grading of a number of A2 units, subsequently extended to some AS units as well, with a view to re-grading if necessary. Re-grading means changing the boundaries for the translation of marks into grades. It does not involve re-marking the papers.

  23. The precise Terms of Reference[29] for the inquiry were:

  • To investigate allegations about the setting of standards for A level grades this year. In particular, to make sure that the conversion from marks to grades was determined according to proper standards and procedures. A first report on this was provided to the Secretary of State on Friday 27 September.

  • To investigate the arrangements at QCA and the awarding bodies for setting, maintaining and judging A level standards, which are challenging, and ensuring their consistency over time; and to make recommendations by November to the Secretary of State and Ken Boston, Chief Executive of the QCA, for action with the aim of securing the credibility and integrity of these exams. A second report on this was provided to the Secretary of State on 2 December.

Concerns about the Tomlinson inquiry

  24. There was some criticism that the Tomlinson report did not address the concerns raised over the 2002 A level results. We did not find this to be the case and outline some issues that were raised by the Committee with Mike Tomlinson during his oral evidence session.

SHOULD MORE EXAMINATION PAPERS HAVE BEEN RE-GRADED?

  25. On 14 October 2002, Mike Tomlinson announced the results of his investigation into the grading of A levels.[30] Grading was reviewed for all A2 and AS units for which the relevant awarding body Accountable Officer made changes outside the historical norms to the grade boundaries recommended to them by Chairs of Examiners. There were 78 units which fell into this category, and these were then reviewed by expert panels, each of which comprised the relevant awarding body Chief Executive and Chair of Examiners, and a Chair of Examiners from another awarding body. Each panel was observed by a representative of the QCA and an independent observer, nominated by representative organisations for schools, colleges and teachers. Seven independent observers were used.[31]

  26. Following this process A level grade boundaries in 18 units were revised: 6 AS units, and 12 A2 units. These changes affected a total of 9,800 candidate entries. The redefinition of these grade boundaries affected 733 candidate entries for AS levels and 1,220 for A levels. 1,945 individual students from 839 centres have received at least one revised A or AS level grade.

  27. Mr Roger Porkess, Project Leader for Mathematics in Education and Industry (MEI), and also an OCR Principal Examiner for Mathematics, expressed to us his concern that many more examination papers should have been regraded.[32] Mr Tomlinson explained "the three boards gave me the data for their movements of grades, mark boundaries this year, and they gave me data from 2001... The decision to look at it was mine alone, based on that evidence and the evidence from documentation, which indicated whether or not the chair of examiners had been consulted about the changes and had agreed them".[33]

U GRADED STUDENTS

  28. Some colleges found that students who were performing exceedingly well in terms of their examination results got an unclassified mark for their coursework. Dr McLone said "There are very few of those. I know there has been a lot in the press about it, but we did an analysis for QCA, in their inquiry, and, as you will have seen in that report, there are actually very few who actually got a U in coursework; and, in fact, in English, which was the subject which was most under review, nobody got a U in coursework who got As in the examination, when you actually analysed the results. So I do not think that there is actually an issue which goes along with what we are talking about."[34]

  29. The QCA's review of Curriculum 2000, which was undertaken marginally before the Tomlinson inquiry, had looked at the reports about students who showed extreme A2 unit profiles: for example, two grade As and a grade U. OCR had 979 students with an AAU profile. This was 0.5 % of OCR's total entry. Most of these candidates were spread across a range of schools and colleges. In very few schools and colleges were there more than one of these students. AQA had 769 students with an AAU profile. This was 0.3 % of AQA's total entry. The QCA concluded that we should expect a very small percentage of extreme unit profiles and that uneven or extreme unit profiles did not imply grading or marking error. Uneven or extreme unit profiles could be expected because different units commonly assess different aspects of the subject and some students under­ or over­perform from unit to unit.[35]

Success in 2002

  30. During September and October 2002 there was great concern that many A level students had been affected by confusion in the grading process of the new examinations. There was also concern that the increasing number of students passing the A2 examinations demonstrated that A levels were getting easier. However the evidence that was presented to us largely agreed with the findings of the Tomlinson inquiry. The vast majority of students who took A2 examinations this year were unaffected by the grading issues and they can be proud of their achievements. Nothing in the evidence submitted to the Committee has led us to believe that it was a lessening of the standards that gave rise to improved pass rates.

  31. Dr McLone reminded us that "a lot of the students out there have done very well, a lot of the colleges worked very hard". Curriculum 2000 required a great commitment from staff in schools and colleges to ensure its effective implementation. Dr McClone said "there is a good deal of evidence... that those organisations that spent time with their students, worked out how they were going to do it over the two years... have actually done very well".[36]

  32. Mr Tomlinson praised the commitment of FE colleges in adopting the new curriculum, saying that "they spent an enormous amount of time and effort getting ready for Curriculum 2000 and ensuring adequate training of staff". He recognised that schools had different pressures placed on their resources and therefore he wanted to refrain from being critical. "There is some evidence that some schools did not participate in the training for Curriculum 2000".[37]



26   Minister Stephen Twigg - DfES Press Notice 2002/0164. Back

27   Statement by the Rt Hon Estelle Morris - 19 September 2002. Back

28   Evidence the Committee received regarding the public dispute is detailed in Qq. 327-405, 428-429. Back

29   A Level Standards - interim report, Mike Tomlinson. Back

30   DfES: Tomlinson Report on Outcomes of Review of A­level Grading - 14 October 2002. Back

31   Ibid. Back

32   The debate the Committee had with Mr Porkess may be found under: Qq.408-439. Back

33   Q.484 Back

34   Q.173 Back

35   QCA's Review of A level awarding in 2002, Section: Unit Profiles. Back

36   Q.172 Back

37   Q.494 Back


 
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