Achieving broadly similar outcomes in Wave 1 GCSEs

This summer marks an important milestone in the curriculum and qualifications reform journey. For the first time, units from the new GCSEs in eight Wave 1 subjects will be awarded. Oliver Stacey, Senior Qualifications Manager, explains that a key focus for the regulator is ensuring confidence in these new qualifications.

These new qualifications have been co-created with stakeholders to relate to and support the Curriculum for Wales. They are the result of several years of detailed development and collaboration.

Promoting public confidence

As the qualifications regulator, one of our primary purposes is to promote public confidence in qualifications and the Welsh qualifications system. For the new GCSEs, this is a shared endeavour with WJEC, the awarding body that delivers and awards these qualifications.

We recognise that teaching and preparing learners for a new qualification brings additional challenges. While sample assessment materials are available, there are currently no past papers or examiner reports for teachers to draw upon. This naturally creates more uncertainty for this summer’s assessments, and for those next summer, before full qualifications are awarded for the first time.

Over time, as live assessment materials and supporting resources build up, this uncertainty will reduce. But we are very aware of the unique position teachers and learners are currently in, and of the need to protect learners during this transition period.

Broadly similar outcomes

To support public confidence and fairness during this change, we have committed to qualification outcomes in the new GCSEs being broadly similar to those in the existing, legacy qualifications.

At a national level, this means overall outcomes will be protected as new GCSEs are introduced. It does not mean that results at individual centres will be the same as in previous years. For qualifications where there has been a lot of change (for example to the content, structure and assessment of the qualification) two of the key considerations are:

• What outcomes from the legacy qualifications will the new GCSE be broadly similar to?
• Is the cohort taking the new qualification similar to those who previously took the legacy qualification, or are there differences in learner profiles?

You can read more about broadly similar outcomes in our previous blog about broadly similar outcomes.

English and Cymraeg language and literature

For English and Cymraeg, there are notable differences between outcomes in the legacy language and literature GCSEs, particularly at grades A and C. In English, outcomes at grade C in literature are significantly higher than in language, while in Cymraeg the same pattern exists, although the difference is smaller. In both subjects, more learners take language than literature.

Taking a broadly similar outcomes approach in English and Cymraeg will mean that outcomes in the two qualifications will be situated between the legacy language and literature outcomes. 

Mathematics and numeracy

The new double award mathematics and numeracy qualification draws together mathematics and numeracy into one qualification.

Most learners take both the GCSE mathematics and GCSE numeracy, and outcomes in the two qualifications are much more similar, with a tendency for learners to, on average, do slightly better in GCSE maths.

To reflect this, a different approach will be taken for mathematics and numeracy as there isn’t the need to position the outcomes somewhere between the legacy qualifications like for language and literature.    

How awarding decisions will be informed

To support the awarding of the new GCSEs, we will publish a set of awarding principles. These will guide WJEC’s approach to awarding and provide them with a set of factors to consider. These include aspects such as how they use a both qualitative evidence, for example, examiner judgement and quantitative evidence such as statistical information when they award each GCSE, as well as requiring them to explain how they have prioritised and weighted different sources of evidence.

Next steps

We know that the units awarded this summer will have a big impact on the overall qualification outcomes. We will work closely with WJEC during these first unit awards; playing close attention to entry patterns, learner performance and the integration of different sources of evidence in the awarding process. This well help inform the approach taken next summer when the full qualifications are awarded for the first time.