.This particular workshop focused on summative assessments. The process of awarding GCSE and GCE is based on the current code of practice. This has a heavy reliance on professional judgement, but is no longer fit for purpose.
The process of deciding upon boundary levels has nmot changed over the years. There is more emphasis placed on personal judgement than on the statistical analysis that accompanies it.When grade boundaries are decided, the awarding process is:
· Expensive
· Time-consuming
· Not conducive to rigorous evaluation
· Not guaranteed to align standards
The code of practice has failed to respond to research evidence and candidate level statistical data that has recently become available. Recent research suggests that awarders tend to give higher grades to fewer candidates on harder papers than on easier papers. If candidates are differentiated by only a few marks at the grade level boundaries, then awarders judgements have proved to be very unreliable.
A way forward may be to move away from criterion referencing to cohort referencing for the major exams. Use that as an anchor to establish ability levels at candidate level and use these benchmarks to establish grade boundaries in other subjects