Ofqual orders revision of science exams at GCSE

GCSE science examinations are set for a shake up after a report by the qualifications and examinations regulator Ofqual, published in March, highlighted concerns that the latest GCSE science specifications have led to 'a fall in the quality of science assessments'.  

The report - The new GCSE science examinations. Findings from the monitoring of the new GCSE science specifications: 2007 to 2008 - focuses on specifications offered by the England-based awarding bodies (AQA, Edexcel and OCR) in GCSE science and GCSE additional science, introduced for first teaching in September 2006.  

Assessment issues

The regulator found that the methods of assessment used across the specifications for both courses varied to such an extent, in the type of questions or tasks set and in the weighting of internal and external assessments, that it questioned whether grades could be reliably compared across the awarding bodies.  

A recurring concern for Ofqual in its review of awarding bodies' question papers was that they provided insufficient opportunity for more able students to demonstrate the extent of their scientific knowledge, understanding and skills because of the prevalence of multiple-choice questions and short-answers which were limited in the scientific content they could address. Some of the wrong answers provided in multiple-choice questions were considered 'too obviously incorrect' while other questions failed to assess the broader aspects of 'how science works'.