Presentation entitled 'Regulating qualifications in a time of change', delivered at the Federation of Awarding Bodies conference, 10 Novemeber 2010.

1. Regulating qualifications in a time of change
Isabel Nisbet, Chief Executive, Ofqual
November 2010

2. The changing scene
 Qualifications
 The Government agendas
 The regulatory agenda
 Challenges

3. International position (educational attainment of
young people and adults)
Bobbling between the top group and the second group

4. Adult skills (age 25-64)
Proportion of adults at level 2 (equivalent of 5 or more good
GCSEs):
– UK 18th
out of 30 OECD countries
»Behind Netherlands, Germany, Japan, Canada,
USA….
Proportion of adults educated at degree level or above:
– UK 11th out of 30 OECD countries
»Behind Canada, Netherlands, USA
Source: OECD Education at a Glance 2009

5. CBI education and skills survey 2010
Business priorities for schools and colleges
Improve employability skills 70%
Improve literacy and numeracy 63%
Raise overall standards 46%
Provide high-quality vocational options 42%
Improve science and maths skills 28%

6. Education/qualifications issues facing England/UK
Long tail of under-achievement
Can we secure a place in the top international division?
“Burden” of assessment and how to assess
– When/how often to test young people
– Internal V external
– Modular v linear
Adult skills gaps
Status and quality of vocational training and qualifications

7. The Government’s agenda
White Papers in 2010/11:
– DfE (curriculum, assessment and 14-19 qualifications)
– BIS (following consultation on skills)
Bill expected in ?January 2011
– Abolition of QCDA
– “Strengthening” of Ofqual
Changed funding arrangements around qualifications
– End of JACQA
– Initiatives around FE College procurement of qualifications

8. The Government agenda (ctd)
14-19 qualifications
– Interest in international comparisons – changing standards??
– End of the preferred routes/2013 entitlement
– But “English Baccalaureate”
– Views about content
– Wolf review of 14-19 vocational education
More reviews
– Dame Clare Tickell on Early Years
– Expert group on KS2 assessment (Lord Bew)
– ?Engagement with HE?

9. Headlines for the industry from Government agenda
 Biggest change of political culture since 1997
 Inherited assumptions being re-examined
 Difficult transition from the old to the new
 Major restrictions on public funding – for schools, colleges, local
authorities, quangos, government departments….
 Tensions between market philosophy and central policies
(particularly in 14-19 qualifications)
 Less development work to be done at the centre – more room
for the industry (as long as you stick together)
 Some policy flux/uncertainty is inevitable

10. The regulatory agenda
 Standards
 Frameworks
 Making a reality of the 2009 Act

11. Standards
 Ensuring that qualifications are fit for the regulated system
 Primary responsibility with awarding bodies
 Ofqual may choose to accredit
 Accreditation – only when requirements are met
 Real-time monitoring – by risk
 Retrospective monitoring – GQs and VQs

12. Monitoring standards of VQs
Recent/current examples:
 L3 Diploma for Children and Young People’s Workforce
 IIAL L3 award in Automotive Refrigerant Handling
 McDonalds L3 award in Supervising Food Safety in Catering
 Edexcel BTEC L2 I Wirk Skills
 Financial services Skills Council L4 Diploma for Financial
Advisors

13. What we look at
 Validity
 Reliability
 Comparability (where appropriate)
 Minimising bias
 Manageability

14. What we look at
 ValidityValidity
 Reliability
 Comparability (where appropriate)
 Minimising bias
 Manageability

15. Validity
 Does the assessment measure the right things? (narrow)
 Is the qualification FIT FOR PURPOSE (wider)
 As important for VQs as for GQs

16. The standards debate – old and new
 OLD – emphasis on comparability over time and equivalence
 Debates about “grade drift”, “dumbing down”
 Scepticism about comparability between VQs and GQs
 Influenced by use of qualification outcomes in accountability
measures for schools and colleges

17. Has it shrunk?

18. The cold shower theory of exams

19. The NEW standards debate – fitness for purpose
 Suitability for progression – employment, HE, next stage of
learning
 Supporting/reinforcing the best teaching and learning
 VALIDITY PLUS
 Standards can change if purposes change or if best practice
advances

20. Frameworks
 Ofqual wants a SINGLE FRAMEWORK
 Consultation
 Wolf evidence
 Structure of qualifications and assessment/grading systems
must be FIT FOR PURPOSE
 Important place for unitised qualifications
 Important place for credit-based qualifications
 But one size does not necessarily fit all

21. The QCF
 143 awarding organisations recognised to operate in the QCF
 6,619 qualifications accredited in the QCF
 28,650 units in the unit bank
 Units of variable quality
 Regulatory arrangements could be made less burdensome
 Evaluation workshops coming up
 Benefits still to be realised

22. Remember the benefits
 Gives value to everything learnt
 Flexibility for learners and employers
 Consistent approach to describing qualifications
 Enables qualifications to be constructed unit by unit
 Provides an improved method for meeting industry
needs

23. Making a reality of the 2009 Act
 Primary responsibility with awarding organisations
 Regulation – about standards, confidence and value for money
 Ofqual ensures that awarding organisations are controlling
quality and checks particular qualifications when necessary
 Proportionate, risk-based and evidence-based
 Seen and heard when qualifications are challenged
 Active against malpractice – and we will back you up
 Read and comment on our consultation documents…..

24. The changing scene
 Qualifications
 The Government agendas
 The regulatory agenda
 Challenges

25. The changing scene
 Qualifications
 The Government agendas
 The regulatory agenda
 ChallengesChallenges

26. Challenges from you to us
 Are we still adding burden and cost to the system?
 Do we really trust awarding organisations?
 Are we always responding to questions consistently?
 Is RITS really going to be better than WBA?
 Are our regulations/operating rules etc too complicated
and detailed?
 Does Ofqual have the capacity and capability to meet
expectations?
 Are we really independent from Ministerial Government?

27. Challenges from us to you
 Are you prepared to take real responsibility for the quality
of your qualifications and units?
 Are you ready for the demands of cash-strapped public
purchasers of your qualifications?
 Are you prepared to adapt to the world of the new
Government – and speak to it cogently as an industry?
 Are you prepared to be truly transparent about your
activities?
 Are you prepared to debate with the public without being
defensive?
 Now that you’ve put so many qualifications into the QCF,
are you prepared to realise some of the benefits?
 Do your qualifications meet the needs of the 21st
century?

28. And finally…..

29. …it’s goodbye from me