I feel like secret squirrel. I know for a fact that last night’s blog post ( HERE ) has been a topic of conversation in various offices across the country. Not only for its content, but also conspiracy theories abound about how I came across Glenys Stacey’s letter before “they” had received a copy, as it wasn’t (and still isn’t) published on the .gov site, I hereby confirm that there are no “leaks”; I don’t have inside information… I am just lucky and came across a link on Twitter. In fact, I know that for some of the examining bodies the first time they were aware of the letter was from reading my post. Just to clarify, when I referred to being given a link, I meant the link to the research programme that I’m talking about below and absolutely nothing else as the link in the Ofqual letter didn’t work!.

Trawling the web this morning I expected to see it published on the DFE/Ofqual but I’m disappointed to see that it hasn’t been put up for “general consumption” … the only thing that is there is a document entitled “GCSE – Summary of Research Programme” ( THIS DOCUMENT ). To me, publishing this in isolation is sooooo misleading and underplays the importance of this project (even if it’ll be ineffective!) because, without Glenys’ letter, and without knowing the timeline of events leading to this, the research programme will seem innocuous to anyone who stumbles across it.

Anyone with “half a brain” could have told you that there are VERY OBVIOUS differences in difficulty between the accredited Sample Assessment Materials (SAMs), and I suppose that most people with the “other half of the brain” assumed that these differences would get smoothed out through differing grade boundaries i.e. Edexcels would have lower grade boundaries than OCR and AQA would have the highest boundaries for comparative grades in the “real exams” from 2017 onwards. My perception (i.e. just one opinion) is that any difference in difficulty has been “glossed over” and threats of a single board thrown “out there” when anyone has dared to suggest that there are obvious differences.

Having read the details about the research I’m still not convinced that it will address the issues faced by the exam boards – you really must read it! Given the “six points of generic feedback“ given to the exam boards by Ofqual back in September (shown below) it appeared that Ofquals original concern back then related to the differing approaches to problem solving and the application of the Assessment Objectives (AOs) and not necessarily the level of comparative difficultly – yet much of this research is in relation to this comparability. Do I sense some back tracking here?

The fact remains that we have 4 exam boards, all of whom are accredited but we really don’t know what the finish line looks like i.e. what we are aiming for. The research programme has limitations and there are much more qualified people out there to critique the methodology than me (and I’ll be sure to reblog their views). The cynical amongst you may suggest that it is a “box ticking, Public Relations” exercise and in fact the research has been structured to deliver the results that “they” want it to show. “Me”? I’d say that the results will “show what they show”. More importantly I am disappointed in the way it has been made public knowledge – it would appear that DFE/Ofqual are selective about what information/letters are published on their site – it’s almost like someone is trying to slip it out there under the radar and hope no one notices.

So what was the alternative for Ofqual? I don’t know what the answer is … ummm … maybe deferral for a year whilst someone sorts out the debacle; or ummm…. carry on regardless and “wing it” hoping it all works out … ummm … what about a research programme that measures the real issues?. Oh bum! Just remembered that I’m not convinced Ofqual want to admit there are issues, let alone have a definitive list of them that doesn’t imply that the accreditation process was flawed. I seriously haven’t a clue what the solution is; all I know is that I really feel for the exam boards right now. They will be taking the flak on the frontline.

What’s that I hear you say? “Which exam board am I choosing?” … Once again … it is waaaaaayyyy too early to be making a decision. Ask me again in 3 months!

Serving Suggestion: To get the most out of this post, you are advised to follow the links and read through any preceding posts.