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Qualification reform update
GCSE reform and redevelopment
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GCSE English: structural changes
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First teaching September 2015
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Untiered
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New 1 to 9 grading scale
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100% external, terminal assessment
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November re-take opportunity, but only for 16+
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No single English option
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Speaking and Listening as separate endorsement
GCSE English Language: criteria
Reading (50%):
• Students should read ‘high quality, challenging texts from the
19th, 20th and 21st centuries’
• The text types must include literature, literary non-fiction
and other non-fiction writing such as essays, reviews and
journalism (both printed and online)
• All examination texts will be unseen, and be drawn from each
of the three centuries
• Assessing: comprehension, critical reading, summary and
synthesis, writers’ choices (including grammatical) ones and
comparison
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GCSE English Language: criteria
Writing (50%):
• clear and coherent text, for different audiences and purposes
• for impact
• including ‘creatively and imaginatively’
• 20% of whole qualification allocated to SPaG
Speaking and Listening (unweighted):
• renamed Spoken Language
• focuses on presentation skills, effective listening and use of
standard English
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What choices do boards have?
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Matching text types and periods
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Number of texts; length of texts
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Types of texts (within the broader categories); themes
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Paper structure: relationship between reading and writing
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Writing tasks
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Number and length of papers
GCSE English Literature criteria
Students should study a range of high quality, intellectually
challenging, and substantial whole texts in detail. These must
include:
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at least one play by Shakespeare
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at least one 19th century novel (not short stories)
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a selection of poetry since 1789, including representative
Romantic poetry
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fiction or drama from the British Isles from 1914 onwards.
GCSE English Literature criteria
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To ensure students read widely within these categories, there
must be unseen texts in the assessment
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Students must compare texts they have studied, as well as
comparing unseen texts
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5% of the qualification is devoted to SPaG, or ‘using a range
of vocabulary and sentence structures for clarity, purpose and
effect, with accurate spelling and punctuation’
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Note also reference to grammatical / linguistic terms to aid
literary analysis
What choices do boards have?
More scope here for variation:
• Choice of set texts
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Placement of poetry / prose / drama
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Treatment of unseen
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Comparison
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Recreative response?
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Question types
Accountability reform
From 2016, in new Progress 8 headline measure
• Double weighting for English as enabling subject
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This can now be either of GCSE English Language or GCSE
English Literature, but both must be taken to secure the
double points
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(Same is true for Attainment 8 and eBacc measures)
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Still awaiting a view on International GCSE and Certificate
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A LEVEL REFORM
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The process: HE involvement
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Ministerial concern: is GCE providing adequate progression to
degree level?
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We held in-depth conversations with 80+ academics, as well
as practitioners and stakeholders
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A level English is not broken
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…but there are identifiable areas of weakness in first-year
undergraduates
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Awarding Bodies working together with Ofqual on sharing this
evidence to create new criteria, and address these issues
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The process: HE involvement
Literature undergraduates need to be better at:
• Close reading skills, and related critical terminology
• Independent thinking and study skills
• Essay writing and general written articulacy
• Wide reading (with adequate historical breadth)
• Confidence with poetry
• Not making sweeping generalisations about literary theory
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The process: HE involvement
Language undergraduates need to be better at:
• Knowledge of grammar/phonetics/descriptive linguistics
• Understanding of language as a concept
• Writing skills
• Numeracy and data analysis
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Note: different departments have very different views (e.g. on
creative writing)
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GCE English Language also a bit of an outlier in this regard:
very few HEIs ask for it as entry requirement due to take-up
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The process: HE involvement
What about GCE Language and Literature?
• As well as Literature, Language and Linguistics departments,
we also spoke to a range of lecturers representing the broader
gamut of ‘English Studies’
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Support the integrated nature of the 2008 specifications
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Reiterated the points about writing skills, wider reading,
knowledge of grammar, close reading, and being able to
situate a text within a cultural/historical context
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Context more important than ‘arbitrary comparison’
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What have you told us?
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The jump to AS is a big one, particularly in Language
Dealing with ‘core’ and ‘secondary’ texts is difficult
Atomistic AO treatment has detrimental effects
Don’t assume learners at this level all have a love of reading
Covering all the content prior to the AS exam can be difficult
Coursework / independent study is very important
Unseen, recreative writing, creative writing, language
investigation = all valid and important assessment types
Clear mark schemes are really important
We will try to respond to as much of this feedback as possible in
the development.
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The new subject criteria
Literature
• 8 texts, not 12, to facilitate in-depth reading and move away
from ‘secondary texts’
• 6 texts reduced down to 4 at AS
• Some date ranges have changed: post-1990 becomes post2000; greater emphasis on pre-1900 texts
• Unseen assessment will be a compulsory requirement
• Less emphasis on comparison, in favour of ‘connections’
• 20% coursework
NB Subject to change as final criteria are not yet published
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The new subject criteria
Language
• 20% coursework
• Tightened technical vocabulary to ensure correct / up-to-date
• Minor amendments to the subject content, to include the
study of historical, geographical, social and individual varieties
of English, as well as aspects of language and identity.
Language and Literature
• 20% coursework
• Less prescription re genre at both AS and A Level
• One of the texts studied must be non-literary
• Inclusion of specific language levels
• Emphasis on comparison is reduced
NB Subject to change as final criteria are not yet published
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A level and AS
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A levels will be two-year courses, with all the examinations
taken in the May / June of Year 13
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AS will be exist – but as a standalone qualification – any AS
result won’t count towards the A level grade
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Awarding organisations can design their AS courses so that
they are, as far as is possible, co-teachable with full A level
courses
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However, the standard will be different: an AS question on
dystopian novels, for example, will have different expectations
to an A level question on the same texts
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