After consultation over the summer, on 27th October 2011 Government published details of their reforms to Key Stage 4 performance tables, which come into force in 2014.
These changes mean that both vocational and academic qualifications will continue to be recognised in the headline measures and the wider performance tables from 2014 onwards. We welcome this, since it means that all Key Stage 4 learners can have high-quality vocational qualifications recognised alongside a core of GCSEs.
The key changes being introduced are:
- All qualifications taken by learners at Key Stage 4 will be recorded and published by Government.
- Government will introduce a list of vocational and academic qualifications that will contribute to the headline measures, including ‘5 GCSEs (or equivalent) at A*-C’ and ‘5 GCSEs (or equivalent) at A*-C including English and maths’.
- The headline measures will change from assessing volume of achievement to assessing breadth of achievement. This means that all qualifications – regardless of size – will count as the equivalent of 1 GCSE.
These changes only affect the school’s headline measures. For other school measures, and for individual students’ achievement, all vocational and academic qualifications will continue to be recognised elsewhere in the performance tables.
To help our customers understand the details of these changes, we’ve produced the following briefing and FAQ document.
Briefing and FAQ document on Government reforms to performance tables (December 2011)