Assessment

The latest news and analysis on exams in the UK, including key dates, timetables, results and statistics for Sats, GCSEs and A levels

Monday

19th Feb 2024

GCSEs: Former education secretary to review reducing exam burden
Charles Clarke will chair a review of secondary education for OCR, which will publish policy proposals in the summer
GCSEs: Former education secretary to review reducing exam burden

Thursday

15th Feb 2024

GCSE resits: Minimum teaching time rules criticised by school leaders
Schools and colleges that do not meet minimum teaching hours for maths and English GCSE resit students will face funding cuts
Introducing minimum teaching time rules for GCSE resit students has been criticised by school leaders
Why school leaders need Hayward momentum to pick up
Secondary school leaders fear a ‘lost opportunity’ for Scottish education if reforms do not take shape soon, says Graham Hutton
hayward momentum traffic lights

Tuesday

13th Feb 2024

Gilruth calls for end to widespread dual presentation
Education secretary says presenting students for an N4 and N5 in the same subject is leading to ‘unnecessary additional workload’ and damaging students’ confidence
dual presentation Gilruth

Thursday

8th Feb 2024

91¶¶Òõ Scotland’s 10 questions with... Stephen Kelly
The Edinburgh head of education on the essential qualities in a school leader, why teaching is not a performance and the importance of a ‘culture of love’ in schools
Stephen Kelly

Wednesday

7th Feb 2024

Call to scrap literacy and numeracy SNSAs at all stages
SNSAs lead to schools being judged ‘inappropriately’ and are ‘inconsistent’ with a play-based approach in early primary, says Willie Rennie
Call to scrap literacy and numeracy SNSAs at all stages

Monday

5th Feb 2024

Esports qualification is ‘stepping stone’ to lucrative industry
Esports course is ‘first of its kind’ in Scottish schools and aims to tap into the fast-growing gaming scene
esports stepping stone

Friday

2nd Feb 2024

Is the end nigh for Progress 8 - and if not, should it be?
With P8 increasingly under fire from critics, a suspension of it occurring imminently and Labour eyeing reform, Grainne Hallahan looks at whether the measure is on its way out
Is the end nigh for Progress 8 - and if not, should it be?

Thursday

1st Feb 2024

SQA plays down impact of strike action on exams
Unite says strikes in February and other industrial action stretching into exams season will have ‘major impact’, but SQA accuses union of ‘scaremongering’
Crash test dummy
GCSEs and A levels 2023: how did schools perform?
Final GCSE and A-level data, including multi-academy trust performance, has been published today
GCSEs and A levels 2023: How did schools perform?
Heads urge DfE to pause school Progress 8 scores
ASCL questions how the government can measure secondary school student progress without a baseline from primary
Heads urge DfE to pause school Progress 8 scores

Tuesday

30th Jan 2024

Wales to introduce vocational GCSEs
It is hoped the new brand of qualification – which will be called VCSEs and will replace existing vocational qualifications such as Btecs – will improve parity of esteem
Wales to introduce vocational GCSEs