News story: Perceptions of qualifications in England: wave 16

We are pleased that many of the improvements observed last year in respect of GCSEs, AS and A levels, in particular in relation to levels of trust, perceived marking accuracy, and fairness of the review and appeals system, have been maintained in this wave.

Levels of understanding with respect to the new 9 to 1 GCSE grading scale, new review and appeal arrangements, and around identifying and reporting malpractice are positive and reflect the extensive communication and engagement programmes we have undertaken over the past few years.

We recognise the need to continue to engage with stakeholders as reforms bed in. To that end, we have launched new films and other resources related to GCSE science ahead of this summer’s exam series and will be doing more to explain other aspects of the reform programme in the months ahead.

These first results in relation to Applied Generals provide a benchmark against which we can seek improvements in the years ahead.

The planned programmes of work set out in our Corporate Plan, published earlier this month, will help to support further improvements in stakeholders’ perceptions of GCSEs, AS and A levels, and Applied Generals over time.