14-19 Education and Skills HE Newsletter

Diploma and A level Specifications Newsflash - September 2007

Contents

• Introduction
• Information on the full Diploma qualification is now available
• Revised GCE AS/A levels 2008

Introduction

This is the second edition of a Newsletter to help inform HE colleagues of developments regarding the 14-19 educational reforms. This 'Newsflash' version is to alert colleagues to the availability of the specifications for the full Diploma qualification and revised A levels.

Information on the full Diploma qualification is now available

The Diploma is an education programme with a curriculum based around an employment sector, and is not vocational training, so a young person taking an Advanced (Level 3) Diploma in Engineering, for example, will leave the programme with knowledge, skills understanding, and perspectives relevant to the engineering sector; with higher order cognitive and problem-solving skills learned in an applied rather than theoretical context with practical experience of working in the sector; and with the functional and personal skills needed for higher education.

The full Diploma qualification has three elements and is made up of a combination of new and existing qualifications. The first two elements, Principal Learning and the Extended Project are new assessed qualifications. The Principal Learning is the key constituent qualification in each Diploma and covers the essential curriculum relating to the sector title. The Project is similar to the Extended Project that is currently being developed at A level and will develop a high degree of planning, preparation, research and autonomous working.

QCA announced in early August which principal learning and project qualifications had been accredited for the first five Diplomas, this information is available at  http://www.qca.org.uk/qca_12987.aspx .

The third element, Additional and/or Specialist Learningis a key component of the new Diploma qualification. Additional Learning will provide greater breadth of study; Specialist Learning will provide greater depth of study.

All Diploma component qualifications are published within the Diploma catalogues on the National Database of Accredited Qualifications at www.accreditedqualifications.org.uk

Discussions are underway with awarding bodies and Diploma Development Partnerships’ regarding the endorsement for existing qualifications as Specialist Learning. Some existing qualifications have been endorsed as specialist learning in the current catalogue. Updates to the catalogues (including updates to Specialist Learning) will be provided termly.
DDPs and awarding bodies will work together to establish new specialist learning qualifications that can be grouped together to form progression pathways, for example into higher education or specific employment sectors.

In the current catalogue, in order to get a sense of the full Diploma content and structure, existing accredited qualifications that complement the content and intentions of each Diploma can be considered as suitable for Additional and Specialised Learning where they are of an appropriate size.

The catalogue enables HE professionals to browse details of accredited qualifications, and if necessary, specify in their entry requirements that particular Additional and Specialist learning qualifications should be combined with the Principal Learning and Extended Project to make up a full Advanced Diploma qualification which would meet their entry criteria for certain courses.

Awarding bodies have now published detailed information on the Diploma qualifications on their websites.

AQA City and Guilds - http://www.diplomainfo.org.uk/
Edexcel - http://developments.edexcel.org.uk/diplomas
OCR - http://www.ocr.org.uk/14-19/14-19_diploma.html

The first five Diplomas (to be taught from September 2008) are Engineering, Construction and Built Environment, Information Technology, Society Health and Development and Creative and Media.

The criteria for the second five Diplomas are now on the QCA website. Diplomas in Business, Administration and Finance, Environment and Land-based studies, Hair and Beauty, Hospitality and Catering, and Manufacturing and Product Design will be available for first teaching from September 2009.

An Advanced Diploma at Level 3 will be equivalent in size to 3 A levels, but will provide a greater breadth of study than some A level combinations.

The Diploma components

Revised GCE AS/A levels 2008

Following proposals in the 14-19 Education and Skills White Paper QCA has revised the A level specifications in all subjects.

The main aspects that were reviewed as part of the consultation on GCE AS/A level qualifications and subject criteria were:

• a reduction in the burden of assessment by reducing the number of units. For the majority of subjects, this will mean a reduction to four units. Fewer assessment units will enable each unit to be more holistic, less mechanistic and more supportive of extended writing
• a review of the necessity for coursework as an element of the assessment. Coursework will be included in A levels only where it is the soundest method of assessment, and provided that it makes clear how reliability and fairness are secured
• clarification of synoptic assessment. We reviewed what synoptic assessment entails in each subject and want to ensure that it will encourage the development of a holistic understanding of the subject. Clearer understanding of synoptic assessment will also support learning and understanding.
• the introduction of more open-ended questions to provide more stretch and challenge for the brightest candidates and an optional extended project to develop student’s capacity for independent research

The subject and qualification criteria were finalised in December 2006 and awarding bodies began their specification development. 

Subject criteria sets out the knowledge, understanding, skills and assessment objectives common to all A and AS specifications in a given subject. They provide the framework within which the awarding body creates the detail of the specification.

Subject criteria are intended to:

• help ensure consistent and comparable standards in the same subject across the awarding bodies;
• define the relationship between the A and AS specifications, with the AS as a subset of the A level;
• ensure that the rigour of A level is maintained;
• help HEIs and employers know what has been studied and assessed

Performance descriptions have been written to describe the typical performance of candidates at the A/B and E/U boundaries in AS and A level examinations. These are in relation to the specific assessment objectives for a subject.

These final criteria and the performance descriptions for each subject are available at alevels@qca.org.uk

The awarding body revised specifications were submitted to the regulators in spring 2007, with the majority of these were accredited by 31 July 2007.

The specifications will be available to centres from September 2007, with first teaching from September 2008.