A NEW MODEL FOR THE REGULATION OF QUALIFICATIONS
Background
1. On 26 September 2007, the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families announced plans for reforming the regulation of qualifications[1] and tests in England[2]. This note sets out the background to the plans, provides more details about the proposals, and explains the arrangements that will be made to consult.
The case for reform
2. Qualifications and tests are central to ensuring that young people make good progress at all stages of schooling; to raising standards and participation at 14-19; and to improving the skills of our adult workforce to meet the economic challenges of the future. We need to make sure that the qualifications and tests taken both by young people and adults are not only relevant, engaging and of high quality, but that they continue to command the full confidence of employers, further and higher education institutions and the wider public. We must ensure that young people and their teachers feel that their hard work and achievements are properly recognised.
3. With our partners at all levels of the education system, we must continue to raise standards and to close achievement gaps. As part of this, it is important that the information we have about the performance of the system is trusted and transparent, so that we can identify areas for development and recognise success.
4. Over the last ten years, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), which is responsible for regulating qualifications and tests, has shown robust independence in its work as a regulator and has developed a system for assuring standards which is recognised internationally for its quality and reliability – as an independent report by the Education Director of the OECD[3] put it in 2004, “no examination system, at the school or other level, is so tightly or carefully managed”. And confidence in the system among teachers and students has improved over the past few years[4]. The hard work of the QCA, and its fellow regulators, means that we can be confident that standards have been maintained.
5. Yet once again, this summer, we had a public debate about standards in qualifications and tests – even as the QCA provided reassurance that standards had been maintained, and that improved results reflected the hard work of students and teachers and higher levels of investment. This kind of debate undermines the achievements of millions of students.
6. In the light of this the Government has concluded that there are two barriers to securing full confidence in the standards of qualifications and tests:
· firstly, the fact that QCA as an organisation reports to Ministers can make it harder to demonstrate that in carrying out its regulatory function it is acting wholly independently;
· secondly, there is an inherent conflict of interest between QCA’s existing functions. QCA is responsible for developing the content of public qualifications and tests and for the actual delivery of National Curriculum tests, as well as for regulating those qualification and tests. It is in certain significant respects a service provider to the awarding bodies which it also regulates. QCA has provided robustly independent assurance about standards in all qualifications and tests. However, it is increasingly difficult for the Authority to be seen as a truly independent guarantor of standards in qualifications which it itself delivers or develops.
7. Now is the right time to address this issue. We need to put beyond question the independence of the public guardian of standards. Moreover, we are developing new qualifications, such as 14-19 Diplomas, and piloting new tests. We need to make sure not only that they are of the highest quality, but that they are seen to be so by employers, universities and the public. The awarding body market is changing, and we need to ensure that it develops in a way that promotes innovation, reduces burden and increases efficiency. Technology has the potential to make a big impact on assessment in the coming years, in ways we have only just started to explore.
The Government’s proposals
8. In drawing up our plans we have learnt from experience elsewhere in Government. Where a key policy goal has been to improve long-term trust and credibility, the Government’s approach has been to develop transparent frameworks for decision-making by an accountable body. We can see this in different policy arenas: in economic policy, the decision to give independence to the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England; in the production of Government statistics, with the forthcoming launch of the Statistics Board; and in the creation of the Food Standards Agency and the Competition Commission. Each of these bodies has improved public trust in the system it regulates through a combination of independence, clarity of remit and a clear and transparent accountability framework.
9. We have decided to apply this approach to maintaining standards in qualifications, which are the key to life opportunities for young people and adults. To tackle these problems, to improve trust in the qualifications system, and to meet the wider challenges ahead, we believe that it is appropriate to create a distinct independent regulator of qualifications and tests. It is not enough simply to make the QCA as it stands more independent of Ministers: we need to make sure that the regulator’s functions do not conflict, that they cannot have any appearance of conflict, and that there is a clearer accountability framework for the regulator. We therefore plan to legislate as soon as possible to create an independent regulatory body. The regulatory responsibilities of QCA will transfer to this new body.
The independent regulator
10. The new body will build on the achievements of QCA in developing its regulatory role. The independent regulator will be responsible for securing the standards of qualifications, tests and assessment, and for ensuring that public investment in qualifications provides good value for money. In particular, it will accredit qualifications, monitor and report on standards of tests and qualifications, recognise awarding bodies and regulate the awarding body market.
11. We propose that it should be required to make regular reports, which would be laid before Parliament, to:
· assess how well the systems for maintenance of standards and delivery of exams are working;
· make recommendations for improvement; and
· report on whether previous recommendations have been acted upon.
12. The role of Ministers would be limited to making senior appointments (subject to the usual rules of public appointments), setting the remit for the regulator, and asking the regulator to investigate particular issues where appropriate. Within its remit, the regulator would have freedom to act as necessary to uphold standards.
The remaining functions of the QCA
13. The QCA will continue to be responsible for:
· curriculum monitoring and development;
· delivering National Curriculum Tests and supporting exams officers, through the National Assessment Agency;
· pushing forward the reforms to vocational qualifications for young people and adults; and
· developing the criteria for public qualifications (such as GCSEs, A-levels and 14-19 Diplomas) which will be regulated by the new qualifications regulator and awarded by awarding bodies to which it has given formal recognition.
14. QCA will continue to work closely with the Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills. It will have a clear and focused remit which will enable it to concentrate on the reform and delivery of qualifications, curriculum and assessment.
15. We believe that this structure will both provide greater transparency in the arrangements for regulating and developing qualifications and tests, and secure the confidence in standards on which they depend. At every stage of the school system, independent bodies will have clear responsibilities for ensuring fairness and high standards. The Schools Adjudicator can look at appeals against admissions decisions, while Ofsted inspects the quality of teaching and learning. Our plans for reforming qualifications regulation will bring qualifications and tests into line with those arrangements.
Next steps
16. We plan to legislate as soon as possible. To prepare the way for legislation, we will publish a consultation document in the coming weeks, which will set out more detailed proposals including on governance, appeals, the detailed operational relationship between QCA and the new regulator, and the exact powers and responsibilities of both organisations.
17. Following the consultation, we will work with the QCA to put in place shadow arrangements for the new regulator, so that we can begin to benefit from the new structure as early as possible.
18. Ministers are grateful to the Board and staff of QCA for their commitment and achievements, which have paved the way for the further developments announced today.
Department for Children, Schools and Families
September 2007
[1] The plans do not cover higher education qualifications.
[2] The arrangements for qualifications regulation in Wales and Northern Ireland will be unaffected by these proposals. Qualifications will continue to be regulated jointly by the regulatory authorities in the three countries.
[3] Examination Standards: Report of the independent committee to QCA (QCA, December 2004) – http://www.qca.org.uk/qca_9810.aspx
[4] GCSEs and A level: the experiences of teachers, students, parents and the general public (QCA, November 2006) – http://www.gca.org.uk/libraryAssets/media/2006-MORI-Perceptions-A-levels-and-GCSEs-report.pdf.