In their web-page outlining the facts of AS and A Level reform the Department for Education outlines five key changes. These are:
- Assessment will be mainly by exam, with other types of assessment used only where they are needed to test essential skills.
- AS and A levels will be assessed at the end of the course. AS assessments will typically take place after 1 year’s study and A levels after 2. The courses will no longer be divided into modules and there will be no exams in January.
- AS and A levels will be decoupled – this means that AS results will no longer count towards an A level, in the way they do now.
- AS levels can be designed by exam boards to be taught alongside the first year of A levels.
- The content for the new A levels has been reviewed and updated. Universities played a greater role in this for the new qualifications than they did previously.
The standard of AS and A Levels are not changing; so in theory a student who would have got an A in the legacy qualifications, should still get an A now.
The new AS and A Levels in Latin, Classical Greek, Classical Civilisation and Ancient History are offered by OCR. These are 100% exam based and co-teachable. Do look at the relevant tab for more details.
The impact of the new reforms have yet to be ascertained but there are some expected outcomes which could impact Classical Subjects:
- Many schools are dropping AS Levels and not allowing them in any subject, this will impact on teachers who may rely on AS Level to teach on a truncated timetable
- Many schools are also making the standard student timetable three A Levels taught over the full two years, which may negatively impact numbers as anecdotal evidence seems to suggest that the Classical Subjects are often initially the 'fourth subject' for many students
- With the AS and A Level exams in the Classical Languages now being separate, and making use of the same texts, OCR has had to rotate texts every two years to ensure the quality of the papers, which will have implications for teacher workload and planning
If you have any comments on the impacts of these reforms, or suggestions for new ways we can support you, then please do let us know.
