Botched computing test won’t count towards final GCSE grades, Ofqual confirms
Ofqual has confirmed that a 20-hour non-examined assessment in computer science will not count towards pupils’ final GCSE grades in 2018 or 2019 after tasks from the test were leaked online.
The regulator proposed changes to the assessment, currently worth 20% of the overall grade, after it discovered that tasks and detailed solutions were posted on forums and viewed “thousands of times”.
Now Ofqual has confirmed that the proposals will go ahead after 75% of respondents to a consultation on the issue backed changes to the way the tests are run this year and next. It is not yet known what will happen in 2020.
It means that although pupils will still sit the test this year, they will be given feedback on their performance, rather than a mark that affects their final grade.
Schools Week revealed last October that questions from the assessment, along with detailed solutions, were posted in online forums and viewed “thousands of times”, prompting the exam board Edexcel to replace the test.
Sally Collier, the chief regulator of Ofqual, said the changes “will make the qualification as fair as it can be for all students”.
Read the full article in Schools Week.