Tighter controls after exam row

Ofqual has announced that the tests will not count toward final grades in English and English language as there is no way of ensuring they are being marked consistently and fairly across schools.

The move comes despite overwhelming opposition from teachers during a consultation.

Chief regulator Glenys Stacey admitted that the decision would be “unpopular” with many teachers, but insisted it was necessary because the current system is unfair. Under the proposals, from next summer, pupils will still be tested on their speaking and listening abilities, but these results will be reported separately on GCSE certificates.

A report into the consultation on the proposals, published yesterday, reveals resistance to the change.

It said: “Overall, respondents strongly disagreed with the proposals. In total, 92 per cent of those who responded to the consultation said that they were against plans to remove speaking and listening marks from final GCSE English and English language grades.”

Ms Stacey said: “We know that this will be unpopular with many teachers, and will affect students who have already completed their first year of studies, but we think it right to make these changes and to act as quickly as possible because the current arrangements result in unfairness.

“Exam boards cannot be sure that speaking and listening assessments are being carried out and marked consistently across all schools, and we have evidence that they are not. That creates unfairness, and that is unacceptable.”

She added: “We know there are concerns that these skills will not be taught if they don’t count towards final grades and accountability measures. We must stress that the curriculum has not changed, and these skills will be assessed as they are now and the results reported.”

Brian Lightman, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “We are disappointed with this decision which overrules the responses of a vast majority of teachers to the consultation. The prime purpose of our qualifications system should be to assess what young people know, understand and can do, not to service the current over-inflated, high stakes accountability system.”

He added that it is “crucially important” that schools put speaking and listening at the heart of their teaching and planning, and that as much weight is given to the endorsement on GCSE certificates as the rest of the qualification.

Russell Hobby, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said: “We are disappointed that Ofqual has chosen to fly in the face of reason in deciding to implement changes to the structure of GCSE English with immediate effect.

“Thousands of students are more than halfway through their preparation for taking GCSE English in 2014, but now face the disruption of having to sit a different mix of assessment processes.

“Those students going into year 11 who were assessed for speaking and listening last year will feel cheated, having already prepared for something they felt was going to contribute to their GCSE grades.

“Teachers will return to school faced with the task of explaining the situation to anxious students and their parents and also with the task of amending the planning of teaching and learning for an as-yet-unknown reformed assessment regime.

“Schools treat the planning of courses seriously and will have written schemes of work with a two-year programme of study in mind, taking account of speaking and listening assessments. Our concerns lie less with the rationale for change than with the unfair timing of its implementation.”