Ofqual announces revised arrangements for GCSE computer science

Ofqual has announced that non-exam assessment will not count to the final 9 to 1 grade in GCSE computer science in 2018 or 2019.

It is, however, still an important part of the course and contributes to student learning and progress, so all schools must continue to give students the opportunity within the timetable to complete the tasks.

Ofqual said that the decision was made after analysing more than 2,500 responses to its consultation, which was launched given evidence that some of this year’s tasks had been posted to online forums and collaborative programming sites, contrary to exam board rules.

It is not possible to identify which students have accessed or used this information.

More than two thirds of respondents (70 per cent) agreed that the qualification’s non-exam assessment had shortcomings and most (75 per cent) thought changes should be made. However, views on what action we should take were mixed, with no consensus either for or against our preferred option.

Ofqual also said in a statement: “While we know that not everyone will agree with our decision, students will all have an equal chance to show their knowledge and skills in the exams. If we did not make this change and the results this summer were felt to be unfair because of undetected rule breaches, we would not be able to address the issue.”

Sally Collier, Ofqual chief executive, said: “We are pleased that so many teachers and students took the time to respond to our consultation. A clear majority of respondents agree that there are currently shortcomings with the non-exam assessment that could unfairly advantage some students.

“While the tasks themselves will no longer contribute to students’ grades, we strongly believe that learning about a high-level programming language and having the opportunity to show how it can be used to solve problems is hugely important. We believe these changes will make the qualification as fair as it can be for all students.”