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Clarification regarding non-GCSE qualifications in wider accountability measures for 14-16 year olds in 2014 performance tables
Last month the DfE published details of how the wider accountability measures (‘Best 8’ and ‘value added’) will be calculated in the 2014 performance tables. The key points of this are as follows:
1) 2014 performance tables (to be published early 2015) will include only those qualifications on the relevant DfE high-quality non-GCSE qualifications list. This is confirmed as the case for all measures, not just headline measures.
2) No more than two of these ‘non-GCSE’ qualifications will count in any measures reporting in the 2014 performance tables – including ‘Best 8’ and ‘Value-added’. Each qualification will only count as ‘one’.
3) The current secondary schools’ accountability consultation includes a proposal to publish a new ‘average point score 8’ measure, which would allow the inclusion of up to 3 non-GCSE /iGCSE qualifications from the approved list. However, decisions made as a result of the accountability consultation will not take effect until 2015 at the earliest.
4) Ofqual’s Register of Regulated qualifications will be updated in due course to reflect these changes in the points and contributions to level thresholds.
The DfE Press Notice and updated FAQs can be found here.