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Ed Balls, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, has this week announced that the Department will legislate to create a new independent regulator of qualifications and tests.
Building on the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority’s achievements in regulation, it will be responsible for:
It will also make regular reports, which will be laid before Parliament, assessing how well the systems for maintaining standards and delivering exams are working, making recommendations for improvement, and reporting on action taken on its previous recommendations.
In response, GTC Chief Executive Keith Bartley says:
'This is a very welcome move. Independent measurement and reporting of standards over time is an important way of assuring the public of the achievement of pupils. The development of alternative methods to monitor national standards in this way - such as pupil cohort sampling - would lead to a better balance of learning and testing in schools. This balance – where tests and exams flow from the curriculum and not the other way around - should also allow increased flexibility for the curriculum to be adapted to match the needs of children and young people in the twenty first century. The QCA has an important and ongoing part to play in building on its role in leading change in the curriculum and assessment systems.'
