Edexcel

Last updated

Edexcel
Formation1996 [1]
Merger ofULEAC and BTEC
Type Examination board
Headquarters Strand, London, United Kingdom
Official language
English
Chair
 Mary Curnock Cook CBE
Parent organisation
 Pearson
Website qualifications.pearson.com

Edexcel (also known since 2013 as Pearson Edexcel [2] ) is a British multinational education and examination body formed in 1996 and wholly owned by Pearson plc since 2005. It is the only privately owned examination board in the United Kingdom. [3] Its name is a portmanteau term combining the words education and excellence.

Contents

Edexcel regulates school examinations under the British Curriculum and offers qualifications for schools on the international and regional scale. It is the UK's largest awarding organisation offering academic and vocational qualifications in schools, colleges and work places in the UK and abroad. It is also recognised internationally. [4] In 2019, Edexcel was the focus of significant controversy following a leak of an A-level examination.

History

Edexcel was formed in 1996 by the merger of two bodies, the BTEC (Business & Technology Education Council) and ULEAC (University of London Examinations and Assessment Council). [1] In 2003, the Edexcel Foundation (the charity that managed the board) formed a partnership with Pearson plc to set up a new company called London Qualifications Ltd, which was 75% owned by Pearson and 25% by the Edexcel Foundation. [1] London Qualifications Limited changed its name to Edexcel Limited in November 2004 and is now known colloquially as Edexcel and formally as Edexcel Pearson - London Examinations.

In 2005, Edexcel became the only large examination board to be held in private hands, when Pearson plc took complete control. [1] Edexcel subsequently received investment from their new parent company.

Edexcel also offers IAL, known as International Advanced Levels. It is offered only to schools outside the UK. [5] It is considered by the UK NARIC (the National Recognition Information Centre for the United Kingdom) to be of a comparable standard as the GCE Advanced Level. [6] In addition, Edexcel provides the Edexcel International Diploma (ID) which involves the study of 4 A-Levels (3 full A-Levels and 1 AS-Level in either General Studies or Global Development). [7] [8] The British curriculum offered by the Edexcel International board is among the most taught at International Schools along with the curricula offered by Cambridge International Examinations and, the International Baccalaureate Organization. [9]

On 3 April 2013, Pearson rebranded Edexcel and all of its exams 'Pearson Edexcel', in line with a name change that added the prefix 'Pearson' to all of its brands. [2]

Incorporated examination boards

Controversies

As Edexcel is the only privately owned examination board in the UK, questions have been raised on whether the examination board is acting in the best interest of students, or solely as a profit making business, due to the wide range of Edexcel-endorsed text books published by Pearson, the international multi-billion company which owns the board. [10]

2007

In 2007 it was reported that teachers using Edexcel Music examinations were allowing students to listen to confidential listening paper CDs several days before the examination, by abusing the trust given by the exam board to only check for technical issues. Other exam boards do not allow the practice of checking discs, with AQA specifically instructing teachers not to open the packages containing the CDs before exams. [11]

2013

In 2013, the loss of an A-Level C3 Mathematics exam being delivered to an international school in Amsterdam led to a replacement paper being published for the Summer examination series. However, 60 students took the original paper due to it mistakenly being handed out in two UK and two overseas centres, while the replacement paper was taken by 34,000 students. The replacement paper was criticised for its unusually high difficulty level, and there were concerns that the students taking the original paper would be unfairly marked. [12]

2015

Difficulty

In June 2015, students across the United Kingdom who had taken an Edexcel GCSE Maths paper expressed anger and confusion over questions that "did not make sense" and were "ridiculous", mocking the exam on Twitter. [13] [14] [15] On a Sky News segment, presenter Adam Boulton answered one of the paper's 'hardest' questions with a former maths teacher. [16] [17] As a result, GCSE students across the UK signed a petition made by a candidate requesting that the exam board lowers the grade boundaries as the examination was too hard.

Gender representation

An additional petition was started by a 17-year-old student requesting to "Ensure the representation of women on the A-Level Music syllabus." The petition asks that music composed by women be added to the Edexcel A-Level Music syllabus which "has a total of 63 different set works from a variety of musical genres and eras." After six days, the petition had over 1,800 signatures and was featured in The Guardian . [18]

2019

Question duplication

In June, Paper 3 of the Mathematics GCSE (Higher Tier, 1MA1/03) appeared to contain an exam question which was published in an AQA (another British exam board) Further Mathematics textbook. The exam question had the same diagram, values and answer as the question in the textbook. Pearson Edexcel said that they were investigating how this might have happened. [19] [20]

Exam difficulty concerns from students

After students sat the Paper 2 of the new specification Mathematics A-Level (9MA0), many students complained online expressing that the difficulty of the exam was too high and unlike anything seen in past papers. One online petition to lower grade boundaries was signed by thousands of users. Before results day, Pearson Edexcel released a video addressing students about the difficulty concerns and mentioned that independent experts did confirm that the exam was "fair and valid". They acknowledged the first two questions of the exam were more difficult than anticipated, and also claimed that they would make "small adjustments" to "improve the experience" of the exam for future students. [21]

Leak

Further controversy ensued after the Paper 3 of the new specification Mathematics A-Level (9MA0/3H – sat 14 June), appeared to have been accessed by someone who, late in the night before the exam sitting, posted on Twitter that they would sell a copy of the exam paper for £70. Pearson Edexcel launched an investigation after becoming aware that some scribbled out images of the exam paper were circulated online prior the exam sitting, and found one centre (out of thirty-eight possible suspect centres in one geographic location), who were visited at a very short notice, to have committed a serious and "possibly criminally motivated" security breach of the A-Level maths paper.

Students expressed frustration about the incident; BBC News reported that students believed the incident could have the potential to affect their results. [22] [23] Pearson Edexcel stated that they have "well-established processes to ensure fair and accurate results" and that "grade boundaries will not be affected". [24] On 17 June Edexcel stated that the compromised questions could be removed from the overall assessment, as well as undertaking additional statistical analysis to identify irregular result patterns for particular centres or students. [25]

About 60,000 students were affected in this incident. [26] Two men aged 29 and 32 were arrested on 24 June on suspicion of theft. The men were released under investigation while inquiries continued. [27] Ahead of results day, it was revealed that 78 students who were suspected of being at an advantage from malpractice would have their results withheld. This is the largest number of candidates to be withheld results from a single malpractice incident. [28] No news report on the charge or conviction status after the arrest went to the press

Extremely low A-level mathematics grade boundaries

After a leak of the A-Level Grade Boundaries ahead of results day, it emerged that in order to pass the new specification Mathematics A-Level (9MA0), candidates needed to score 14% (43 marks out of 300) to pass. [29] OCR (another British exam board) also had similarly low grade boundaries. After these extremely low grade boundaries added flavour to many news headlines, Ofqual said that they were confident the grade boundaries this year were "sound", so shifted their focus onto the previous year's grade boundaries for the new Mathematics A-Level for the 2,000 students who sat it after studying it for one year. Ofqual said "We want to understand why the grade boundaries were so different between the two years.", and had called the significant shifts in boundaries "unusual". [30] [31] [32]

None of the exam boards decided to re-open the 2018 award, after being asked to look at them again by the regulator. This could potentially result in students who sat the new specification Mathematics A-Level (9MA0) in 2018 having their results changed. [30] [31] [32]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GCSE</span> British public examinations, generally taken aged 15-16

The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. However, private schools in Scotland often choose to follow the English GCSE system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scottish Qualifications Authority</span> Public body responsible for accrediting educational awards in Scotland

The Scottish Qualifications Authority is the executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government responsible for accrediting educational awards. It is partly funded by the Education and Lifelong Learning Directorate of the Scottish Government, and employs approximately 750 staff based in Glasgow and Dalkeith.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AQA</span> British examination board and registered charity

AQA Education, trading as AQA, is an awarding body in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It compiles specifications and holds examinations in various subjects at GCSE, AS and A Level and offers vocational qualifications. AQA is a registered charity and independent of the government. However, its qualifications and exam syllabi are regulated by the Government of the United Kingdom, which is the regulator for the public examinations system in England and Wales.

The Advanced Extension Awards are a type of school-leaving qualification in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, usually taken in the final year of schooling, and designed to allow students to "demonstrate their knowledge, understanding and skills to the full". Currently, it is only available for Mathematics and offered by the exam board Edexcel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oxford, Cambridge and RSA Examinations</span> British examination board

Oxford, Cambridge and RSA Examinations (OCR) is an examination board that sets examinations and awards qualifications. It is one of England, Wales and Northern Ireland's five main examination boards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International General Certificate of Secondary Education</span> English language based academic qualification

The International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) is an English language based secondary qualification similar to the GCSE and is recognised in the United Kingdom as being equivalent to the GCSE for the purposes of recognising prior attainment. It was developed by Cambridge Assessment International Education. The examination boards Edexcel, Learning Resource Network (LRN), and Oxford AQA also offer their own versions of International GCSEs. Students normally begin studying the syllabus at the beginning of Year 10 and take the test at the end of Year 11. However, in some international schools, students can begin studying the syllabus at the beginning of Year 9 and take the test at the end of Year 10.

The Certificate of Secondary Education (CSE) was a subject-specific qualification family awarded in both academic and vocational fields in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. CSE examinations were held in the years 1965 to 1987. This qualification should not be confused with the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education which is a school-leaving qualification in India. Also, in some African and former British colonial countries there is a qualification named the Certificate of Secondary Education based on the original and former British variant. Also, the CSE should not be confused with the African qualification CSEE.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A-level</span> British educational certification

The A-level is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational authorities of British Crown dependencies to students completing secondary or pre-university education. They were introduced in England and Wales in 1951 to replace the Higher School Certificate. The A-level permits students to have potential access to a chosen university they applied to with UCAS points. They could be accepted into it should they meet the requirements of the university.

Advanced Level (A-Level) Mathematics is a qualification of further education taken in the United Kingdom. In the UK, A-Level exams are traditionally taken by 17-18 year-olds after a two-year course at a sixth form or college. Advanced Level Further Mathematics is often taken by students who wish to study a mathematics-based degree at university, or related degree courses such as physics or computer science.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GCE Ordinary Level</span> British educational certification

The O-Level is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education. It began in the United Kingdom and has been adopted, often with modifications, in several other countries.

The School Leaving Certificate popularly abbreviated as SLC, is the final examination of Class 11 and Class 12 which is also known as +2 course in Nepal. A +2 course is generally pursued after completing Secondary Education Examination (SEE).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ofqual</span> United Kingdom government department

The Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) is a non-ministerial government department that regulates qualifications, exams and tests in England. Colloquially and publicly, Ofqual is often referred to as the exam "watchdog".

Examination boards in the United Kingdom are the examination boards responsible for setting and awarding secondary education level qualifications, such as GCSEs, Standard Grades, A Levels, Highers and vocational qualifications, to students in the United Kingdom.

The A level, is a main school leaving qualification of the General Certificate of Education in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. It is available as an alternative qualification in other countries, where it is similarly known as an A-Level.

The Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) is a provider of secondary school leaving qualifications and further education qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. While the T in BTEC stood for Technical, according to the DfE (2016) it now stands for Technology. BTECs originated in 1984 and were awarded by Edexcel from 1996. Their origins lie in the Business Education Council, formed in 1974 to "rationalise and improve the relevance of sub-degree vocational education". They are the responsibility of the Minister of State for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education in the Department for Education.

Additional Mathematics is a qualification in mathematics, commonly taken by students in high-school. It features a range of problems set out in a different format and wider content to the standard Mathematics at the same level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Science education in England</span> Overview of science education in England

Science education in England is generally regulated at all levels for assessments that are England's, from 'primary' to 'tertiary' (university). Below university level, science education is the responsibility of three bodies: the Department for Education, Ofqual and the QAA, but at university level, science education is regulated by various professional bodies, and the Bologna Process via the QAA. The QAA also regulates science education for some qualifications that are not university degrees via various qualification boards, but not content for GCSEs, and GCE AS and A levels. Ofqual on the other hand regulates science education for GCSEs and AS/A levels, as well as all other qualifications, except those covered by the QAA, also via qualification boards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GCSE Science</span> British educational qualification

In the education system in England and Wales, science at GCSE level is studied through Biology, Chemistry and Physics.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, all secondary education examinations due to be held in 2020 were cancelled. As a result, an alternative method had to be designed and implemented at short notice to determine the qualification grades to be awarded to students for that year. A standardisation algorithm was produced in June 2020 by the regulator Ofqual in England, Qualifications Wales in Wales, Scottish Qualifications Authority in Scotland, and CCEA in Northern Ireland. The algorithm was designed to combat grade inflation, and was to be used to moderate the existing but unpublished centre-assessed grades for A-Level and GCSE students. After the A-Level grades were issued, and after criticism, Ofqual, with the support of HM Government, withdrew these grades. It issued all students the Centre Assessed Grades (CAGs), which had been produced by teachers as part of the process. The same ruling was applied to the awarding of GCSE grades, just a few days before they were issued: CAG-based grades were the ones released on results day.

In 2020, Ofqual, the regulator of qualifications, exams and tests in England, produced a grades standardisation algorithm to combat grade inflation and moderate the teacher-predicted grades for A level and GCSE qualifications in that year, after examinations were cancelled as part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Our history - Pearson qualifications".
  2. 1 2 "Name change from Edexcel to Pearson | Pearson qualifications". qualifications.pearson.com. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  3. ↑ "Ofqual orders further 'conflict of interest' review into privately-owned Edexcel" . Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  4. ↑ "Pearson Edexcel" . Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  5. ↑ "Edexcel International Advanced Levels" . Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  6. ↑ "Benchmarking the Edexcel International Advanced Level against the GCE A Level - Executive Summary" (PDF). National Recognition Information Centre for the United Kingdom. July 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  7. ↑ "Pearson International Qualifications Information Manual 2014/15". Pearson Education. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 January 2022. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  8. ↑ "International GCSEs and Edexcel Certificates - Pearson qualifications" . Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  9. ↑ Chopra, Ritika (29 July 2015). "HRD Ministry mulls new policy to regulate establishment of international schools". The Economic Times. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  10. ↑ "Should Pearson, a giant multinational, be influencing our education policy?". The Guardian. 17 July 2012. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  11. ↑ "Teachers accused of GCSE cheating". BBC News. 14 May 2007. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  12. ↑ "Missing exam paper sparks re-sit row". BBC News. 14 June 2014. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  13. ↑ "Students mock their GCSE #Edexcelmaths exam on Twitter". ITV News. 4 June 2015. Archived from the original on 5 June 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  14. ↑ "Plymouth teenagers furious at GCSE maths exam that 'made no sense'". Plymouth Herald. 4 June 2015. Archived from the original on 5 June 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  15. ↑ "Students vent their frustration at Edexcel GCSE maths exam". The Telegraph. 4 June 2015. Archived from the original on 5 June 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  16. ↑ "Sky News - Edexcel Maths Paper 2015 EXPLAINED". 5 June 2015 – via YouTube.
  17. ↑ "Can You Solve Exam Q Causing Twitter Storm?". Sky News. 5 June 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  18. ↑ Khomami, Nadia (18 August 2015). "Student demands female composers on A-level music syllabus". The Guardian.
  19. ↑ Snowdon, Kathryn (13 June 2019). "Edexcel pupils given question 'copied' from AQA textbook". Schools Week. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  20. ↑ Ewan Somerville, Sian Griffiths and (16 June 2019). "Revision question appears in GCSE maths exam". The Sunday Times. ISSN   0956-1382 . Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  21. ↑ "Hayley White - Addressing the difficulty of our A level maths paper 2". youtube.com. Pearson Qualification Services. 8 August 2019. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  22. ↑ "Students furious after Edexcel A-level maths paper is leaked online - just hours before exam". ITV News. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  23. ↑ "Investigation after A-level paper leaked". 15 June 2019. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  24. ↑ "Edexcel News on Maths and Statistics".
  25. ↑ "Police investigating 'criminal' A-level maths leak". Tes. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
  26. ↑ Turner, Camilla (25 June 2019). "Two arrested over Maths A-level leak". The Telegraph. ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  27. ↑ Weaver, Matthew; Adams, Richard (25 June 2019). "Two men arrested in A-level exam leak investigation". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  28. ↑ correspondent, Sally Weale Education (9 August 2019). "A-level maths results for 78 students withheld after leak of paper". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  29. ↑ "Pearson Edexcel 2019 A-Level Grade Boundaries" (PDF). Page 15.
  30. 1 2 "Exclusive: Ofqual investigating A-level maths grades". Tes. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  31. 1 2 "Ofqual investigating validity of A level maths results | Public Finance". www.publicfinance.co.uk. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  32. 1 2 "A-level maths grades probe about 'justice', say heads". Tes. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
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