Rising exam bill 'is inefficient'

Rising exam bill 'is inefficient'

Head teachers have criticised the "desperately bad use of public money" on rising exam costs.

The bill to schools and colleges in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is put at £700m a year.

A report for the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority said £400m went to exam boards while £300m was spent on exam invigilators and administrators.

Another shows a fall in A-level costs as they change from six units to four, but big variations between boards.

John Dunford of the Association of School and College Leaders said the whole system needed "severe pruning".

'Criticisms'

The QCA report, compiled by Europe Economics, said: "Over time the system almost certainly has engendered inefficiency and in our view is likely to go on doing so.

"Unless action is taken, the burden on taxpayers will increase."

The report added: "Schools and college representatives were vocal in their criticisms of the rate at which exam fee expenditure had risen in the last few years."

Dr Dunford said: "This is a desperately bad use of public money.

"It has become the second biggest item after staffing in most secondary school and college budgets.

"This bloated external examination system is in need of severe pruning."

He repeated his association's call for more assessment to be done by teachers - suggesting the number of exams might be halved.

'Upward trends'

The QCA has also published its annual report on the qualifications market, amid ministerial concern at what has been called the "alphabet soup" of qualifications.

It says there was a growth between 2002 and 2006 in the numbers of qualifications on offer across exam boards or awarding bodies as they are known.

"VRQs and NVQs have increased and new developments in general qualifications and Diploma-related courses have also made a significant impact on overall numbers.

"Numbers of achievements gained, the number of recognised awarding bodies and popularity of courses all show upward trends."

The one area of contraction has been due to the changes to A-levels, which among other things reduce the number of elements students have to tackle.

A report by the QCA on these changes - published jointly with the Welsh regulator DCELLS - shows A-level fees falling.

"The level of this saving varies by awarding body and by subject, with some subjects not seeing a saving."

It adds: "The analysis does highlight some differences in the fees charged by different awarding bodies for the same subjects.

'Better informed'

For example, AQA has a flat rate of £67 for all it's A-levels. But biology, for example, with the Edexcel board costs £97 and design and technology is £148.

But the report adds: "On average, centres can expect to see a reduction in expenditure on A-levels."

It says colleges and schools have competitive choices based on specification, services and fees.

QCA chief executive Ken Boston said: "Choices by centres of which qualification to use are rightly based on a wide range of factors, not just the price.

"But our report on A-level fees will allow them to make better informed judgments."

However another report, this time by accountants PKF in December 2006, has suggested that the introduction of Diplomas from this autumn could see costs rise.

They would involve "a large amount of capital investment" by exam boards, who would pass the costs on the schools.

The report said: "Not only is the cost of investment in the Diplomas uncertain, but there is also uncertainty about what the level of demand will be.

"If there is low demand for the Diplomas the awarding bodies risk not recovering their initial cost of investment."

Also, reductions in the amount of coursework in GCSE exams would push up the cost of those courses, it said.

Diplomas begin replacing A-levels

The government is to start scrapping qualifications in England as the new Diplomas are rolled out to all by 2013.

Applied A-levels are likely to be the first to go, along with thousands of little-used vocational qualifications.

BTecs and City and Guilds may be subsumed in Diplomas as the system is streamlined. Colleges think A-levels will go the same way.

In what the Tories say is a U-turn, ministers are dropping Tony Blair's International Baccalaureate pledge.

The changes were signalled in a green paper for consultation, Promoting achievement, valuing success: a strategy for 14-19 qualifications.

'Overly complex'

A new Joint Advisory Committee for Qualifications Approval will decide which qualifications get public funding to be offered in schools and colleges.

NEW 14-19 STRATEGY FOR ENGLAND
GCSEs and A-levels
Diplomas
Others reassessed by new Committee for Qualifications Approval
Apprenticeships
To be reviewed in 2013

Of the "alphabet soup" of 6,500 or so existing qualifications 65% are taken by fewer than 100 students a year, according to the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

Those with very low uptakes - such as a certificate for parking attendants - are likely to go unless there is a proven demand from students and employers.

Schools Minister Jim Knight told reporters: "Our long-term goal is that every learner in this country has an engaging and comprehensible set of options ... that equips them well for the world of work and higher education."

He said the existing system was "overly complex" and difficult for youngsters and their parents and advisers to understand.

Applied A-levels

This will be essentially three-pronged: Diplomas, GCSEs and A-levels, and Apprenticeships.

The government says it is investing to ensure GCSEs and A-levels continue to be high quality and important for "many" young people.

But it says: "Diplomas will in practice duplicate the offer currently provided by Applied A-levels, and will provide a stronger learning experience".

So from 2013 Applied A-levels "will no longer be needed as part of the qualification offer in England".

It will be up to the devolved administration in Wales and Northern Ireland to decide what to do.

Applied GCSEs, on the other hand, will stay for now.

BTecs

Diplomas include an optional element which ministers say can bring in "the best of existing qualifications - for example some existing vocational qualifications such as BTecs, City and Guilds awards, OCR Nationals and others".

The strategy makes clear that this could also include A-levels and AS-levels.

Exam board Edexcel, which owns the BTec brand, said it thought the strategy meant they could continue both as an integral part of the Diploma and as stand-alone qualifications.

The whole system will be reviewed in 2013, as previously promised.

Mr Knight said: "We are completely open minded about that review at this point."

The director of learning and quality at the Association of Colleges, Maggie Scott, said: "We can see the point at which A-levels, BTec Nationals and other qualifications that serve a purpose for learners might be subsumed under the Diploma umbrella. "

Accreditation

The strategy calls the International Baccalaureate (IB) one of "a number of other general qualifications already in use or that schools are preparing to deliver". Another would be the new Pre-U.

It says it will be for the new exams regulator, Ofqual to consider whether they meet its accreditation criteria.

If they do, the government will consider whether they "fill a gap" and therefore should continue to be funded.

"Where we do continue to fund them, we shall include consideration of their future alongside GCSEs and A-levels as part of the 2013 review," the strategy says.

Late in 2006 the government said it would fund every local authority to have at least one centre offering the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma.

It now says it will not force this on the minority that have not come forward.

Shadow children's secretary Michael Gove called this a U-turn "denying students choice and closing down opportunity".

Liberal Democrat spokesman David Laws said: "It should be up to schools, not central government, what qualifications ought to be offered."

The Association of School and College Leaders and the National Union of Teachers said GCSEs and A-levels should be brought within the Diploma framework.

The general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, Mary Bousted, said: "There is still a long way to go before we have a unified qualification framework rather than three distinct tracks - academic, occupational and vocational."

Exams cost too much, say colleges

Colleges are spending more money on entering students for exams than they are on heating, cleaning or computers, they say.

The Association of Colleges says the cost of entering students for exams has gone up by 36% in the past three years.

Some larger colleges have seen their exam bill rise by more than 25% in one year and face annual bills of over £1m.

The government ordered a review of exam fees last year and has said the results will be published later this year.

The concern comes as the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority is considering a cap on what exam boards can charge.

The association welcomed the QCA's review, saying many colleges faced too-high bills.

For example, the annual bill for exams at the City of Bristol College is £1.5m.

Vice principal Judith Stradling said this was a rise of about 30% in four years.

"It's a cost that needs to be recognised - particularly for 16 to 18-year-olds," she said.

"It's a reflection of your success in a way, because it shows you've got a lot of students achieving qualifications."

Mrs Stradling said the increasing number of modular exams would put costs up further.

'Unacceptable'

Truro College in Cornwall spent just under £1m on exam fees last year.

Principal Jonathan Burnett said students lost out as a result.

"The proportion of funding that we have to spend on exam fees at the college reduces what is available for students," he said.

"We think that that is unacceptable."

Transparency

Last week the board of England's exam watchdog, QCA, heard that exam fees had been rising "well above the rate of inflation".

The QCA is now considering whether a price cap is necessary for the revised A-levels and new specialised Diplomas.

It also wants greater "transparency" in the pricing, and aims to publish all the boards' fees on its website.

AoC chief executive, John Brennan, said: "The AoC welcomes the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority's new review on exam fees and their commitment to taking college concerns seriously.

"Examination costs are higher because government policy requires colleges to use external qualifications as a pre-condition for receiving funding.

"The continuing rise in exam-fee expenditure above 10% a year is unsupportable and will deny other resources to students."

The Higher Education Minister Bill Rammell said there would be a review of exam fees, although the government believed expenditure on exam fees had increased in line with the greater number of learners taking qualifications.

"More and more young people and adults, are achieving the qualifications they need for sustained employment and to meet the skills needs of the economy," he said.

"We have asked QCA to look at the exam fees charged by awarding bodies for GCSEs and A-levels and to make recommendations for a clear pricing structure.

"The findings and recommendations from the review will be published later this year."

Fees for A-levels may be capped

England's qualifications regulator is considering a cap on some fees exam bodies charge schools and colleges.
The board of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority heard that exam fees had been rising "well above the rate of inflation".

It is wondering whether a price cap is necessary for the revised A-levels and new specialised Diplomas.

It also wants greater "transparency" in the pricing, and aims to publish all the boards' fees on its website.

Minutes of the board's February meeting show that the director of regulation and standards, Isabel Nisbet, presented members with information on changes in fees from 2002-03 to 2006-07.

It endorsed her recommendation that from September, awarding bodies should be required to publish fees for GCSEs and A-levels one year in advance.

They should also have to advise it what they were planning to charge for the revised A-levels and the first five Diplomas "to enable QCA to decide whether a price cap might be necessary".

A spokesman said: "We plan to publish more information for centres about exam fees later this year.

"We are keen to see greater transparency about charges to enable centres to make informed judgements about fees and quality of service."

A-level re-sits


The board also began considering whether the credibility of A-levels is reduced by a perceived "re-sit culture", with no limit on the number of times students can re-take the units that make up the qualifications.

It decided re-sits should continue to be allowed.

But there was a feeling that the two parts of an A-level, AS and A2, should be split, so the full A-level was not dependent on grades at AS, where most re-sits occur.

Members also felt the QCA should accredit International GCSEs as "other general" qualifications, if they were asked to do so - but that the term "GCSE" should not be part of their name.