A-Level Design and Technology - Review of Standards 1978-98

Written in 2004, this is a report by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) reviewing standards over time in design and technology A levels between 1978 and 1998.

General context
In 1996, Lord Dearing in his Review of Qualifications for 16–19 Year Olds made several recommendations to ensure that ‘there is a basis and accepted procedure ... for monitoring and safeguarding standards over time’. Also in 1996, the School Curriculum and Assessment Authority (SCAA) one of the predecessors of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) and the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) jointly investigated standards in English, mathematics and science (chemistry) in 16+ and 18+ public examinations over time.

The outcomes of this work were published in Standards in Public Examinations 1975 to 1995. One of the recommendations of this report was that there should be ‘... a rolling programme of reviews on a five-year cycle to ensure examination demands and grade standards are being maintained in all major subjects.' The reviews were to find out if:
*the demand of syllabuses and their assessment instruments had changed over the last 20 years (examination demand);
*the level of performance required of candidates at grade boundaries had changed over the last 20 years (grade standard).
Organised to run in five-year cycles, it was intended that the programme covered every major subject during its first cycle.

Context of this report
There appears to be no 5 year review for design & technology but in 2004 this report was published on standards in A Level Design & Technology covering the period 1978-1998.

Changes in A level design and technology examinations between 1978 and 1998 were influenced by a number of key events:
*the publication in 1985 of the voluntary common core for design and technology
*the introduction in July 1994 of the GCE Code of Practice
*the introduction in 1995 of rules for modular syllabuses.

In addition, several significant changes to syllabuses during the period of the review arose from:
*evolving subject philosophy
*external influences such as guidance and criteria from design and engineering professional
bodies on the possible content of syllabuses
*curriculum initiatives in schools.

Over the period of the review, changes to syllabuses were also led by the increasing acceptability of A level design and technology as a potential source of evidence for admission into higher education – particularly, but not exclusively, into engineering and product courses.

Components
*Examination demand
*Standards of performance - at A/B and E/U boundaries