HC Deb 14 February 1994 vol 237 cc588-9W
Mr. Patrick Thompson

To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the extent of anomalies in the published tables of school examination results arising from pupils entering for GCSE a year early; and what proposals he has for rectifying the figures for the overall performance of schools for pupils at the age of 16 years.

Mr. Robin Squire

My right hon. Friend is well aware of the arguments concerning the basis on which GCSE information should be presented in school performance tables, and has considered them carefully on several occasions. He continues to believe that the case for publishing data which reflect pupils' achievements before or during the year in which they reach the age of 16 has much to commend it, since it provides a clear and consistent record of results gained by the end of compulsory schooling. He will however shortly be consulting about the basis on which the 1994 tables should be published. Final decisions will be taken in the light of that consultation.

Mr. Llwyd

To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make a statement concerning the validity of comparing results in different areas when they are based on examinations of different boards.

Mr. Robin Squire

Such comparisons should be generally valid since national examinations have built-in safeguards to ensure consistency in examining standards. All GCE A/AS level and GCSE syllabuses must satisfy criteria set by the School Curriculum and Assessment Authority—SCAA. GCSE examinations must be conducted in accordance with the code of practice which my right hon. Friend introduced last year. The Office for Standards in Education has reported that the GCSE code has had a beneficial effect on examining and awarding standards at that level in 1993, and my right hon. Friend has now commissioned SCAA to develop a similar code for GCE. The National Council for Vocational Qualifications requires the awarding bodies for general national vocational qualifications to comply with a code of practice on external testing.