Exam marking 'cannot be perfect'

Oqual will stage a public debate about exam standards

The public is to be asked whether it thinks standards in exams are falling, by a new independent watchdog.

The first head of Ofqual - Kathleen Tattersall - is to gather evidence to answer the thorny question of whether exams are getting easier.

And she says the public has a "simplistic" expectation that assessment should be absolutely perfect or accurate.

That might not be the case where exams were essay-form, not multiple choice.

Ms Tattersall was speaking as Ofqual was being formally launched.

Its creation was announced last autumn, when the government said it was splitting the two functions of the exams watchdog QCA, which had been charged with making sure standards were maintained and with shaping the curriculum and testing regime.

The new body is being set up to be a regulator independent of ministers.

There's a broad expectation that assessment should be absolutely perfect and accurate Kathleen Tattersall, Ofqual

In a letter to Schools Secretary Ed Balls, Ms Tattersall said her first priority would be "to establish Ofqual as a credible, authoritative and independent voice in the debate around standards, assessment and qualifications, as we maintain and develop the ongoing work of regulating qualifications and tests".

Ofqual would seek "to establish a reputation for evidence-based, expert and impartial work".

Another priority would be to test the efficiency of the qualifications market, and the reasonableness of fees charged for qualifications.

Many head teachers complain of the rising cost of entering pupils for exams.

'Complex issues'

Ms Tattersall told the Press Association news agency there were limitations to what could be expected from the system.

Ofqual would conduct a "health check" on the reliability of tests, exams and coursework.

"These are very complex issues and there is a simplistic expectation on the part of the public," she said.

"We have really got to begin to engage with the public in a dialogue about the nature of the examination system.

"There's a broad expectation that assessment should be absolutely perfect and accurate, that a mark of 50 is a mark of 50, regardless of who marks, the time at which it is marked and so on," she said.

Public confidence in standards is just as important as ensuring that qualifications are as challenging as they were in the past Ed Balls, Schools Secretary

"There is a precision expected of the system. We need to explore whether that sort of expectation is well-founded, or whether within the system there are some trade-offs between absolute reliability of that nature and the validity of the way in which we go about assessment."

Some question papers involved multiple choice answers, which were very clearly right or wrong, she said, but others were essay-based, which involved markers making a judgement on quality.

In a letter to Ms Tattersall, Ed Balls welcomed the start of a public debate on the standards of exams.

"Public confidence in standards is just as important as ensuring that qualifications are as challenging as they were in the past," he wrote.

In her interview Ms Tattersall said there was "not enough evidence" to say whether GCSEs and A-levels had become easier.

But she said the task of maintaining exam standards from one year to the next became "difficult" whenever courses were revised and syllabuses changed.