A GCSE grade in French, German or Spanish is often treated as a simple measure of language ability, whether a learner is choosing a course for a child or deciding how to return to a language as an adult. In England, though, the regulator Ofqual found that grading in these three subjects was not equally severe, and it changed the grading standard for two of them. This article summarises Ofqual’s decision statement on inter-subject comparability in GCSE modern foreign languages, published on GOV.UK on 5 November 2019, and an Ofqual blog post of 14 February 2019 that evaluated the new GCSEs. Ofqual regulates qualifications in England, so the article concerns GCSEs in England. It is general information.
What Ofqual decided
The GOV.UK statement says Ofqual decided to adjust the grading standards in GCSE French and German to align them with Spanish, but not to adjust Spanish itself. French and German were, in Ofqual’s analysis, consistently harder than other GCSE subjects across a range of statistical measures. Spanish did not show statistical evidence of severe grading, and its entries were not declining. The adjustment was described as making French and German less severely graded in statistical terms, and it was to begin with the 2020 exam series and might be phased over several years. Students from earlier years were not to be regraded.
How Ofqual tested whether to adjust
Ofqual applied a four-part test, according to the statement. First, whether there was statistical evidence of persistent severity in grading over multiple years. Second, whether there was persuasive evidence of detrimental impact on users of the qualification and on society. Third, whether qualification users and examiners would accept an adjustment. Fourth, whether the benefits outweighed potential negative effects. French and German met these tests, in Ofqual’s view, and Spanish did not. For French and German, the statement notes a significant recent decline in student entries, that students’ work was of a sufficient standard when measured against the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), and that examiners and stakeholders supported adjustment.
What the adjustment means in practice
The statement says the adjustment means students of comparable ability would achieve higher grades in French and German than before. It does not change the exam papers or the content of the qualification. Instead it changes the statistical expectations used when grades are awarded, so that a similar quality of work is more likely to receive a higher grade. The regulator’s decision is a statement about grading standards for future results, not about the ability of any earlier candidate.
Anyone comparing results across years should keep this in mind. A grade obtained before the adjustment and one obtained after it may reflect a similar standard of language performance while carrying different letters or numbers. For a fuller picture of what each language qualification represents, see the site’s explanations of CEFR levels and of Ofqual-regulated language qualifications.
Why the 2018 papers were harder
The Ofqual blog reports that the 2018 assessments were more difficult than those in 2017, and describes this as moving the papers from being a bit too easy into a suitable range. It says the difficulty came from factors teachers had not anticipated: more demanding vocabulary in reading and listening materials, questions requiring deeper comprehension instead of keyword spotting, and new extract-based, translation and short-answer formats. Contrary to worries before the exams, it says target-language questions and speech speed were not the cause. Ofqual’s evidence included surveys of teachers in autumn 2018, question-level facility scores, comparisons across listening, reading, writing and speaking components, and an alignment exercise against the CEFR. It stated that it would report in more detail later in 2019, and it did not adjust grading for these subjects in 2019.
What this means for learners and parents
- A grade in one modern language is not automatically a like-for-like measure of another, since Ofqual found that French and German had been harder to score well in than Spanish.
- The adjustment concerned grading, not the standard of language skill required by the specification.
- Adults resuming a language after school can use the CEFR as a common reference for level rather than a remembered grade.
- Exam-board and Ofqual information is the reliable source for the current state of grading.
- The site’s piece on why the national curriculum requirement stops at 14 gives context on entry numbers.
Common questions
Was Spanish adjusted too?
No. The statement says Spanish did not show statistical evidence of severe grading and its entries were not declining.
Were older results regraded?
No. The statement says past students would not be regraded retrospectively.
Does this apply in Wales or Northern Ireland?
The sources describe Ofqual’s decision for England, and this article does not address the position in other nations.
The bottom line
Ofqual concluded that GCSE French and German had been graded more severely than other subjects and Spanish, and decided to adjust them to align with Spanish from the 2020 series. Papers themselves were not made easier; the adjustment changed grading expectations so comparable work earns higher grades. Readers comparing language grades over time or across languages should treat them with that history in mind and use the CEFR for level.
Sources
- Ofqual, “Inter-subject comparability in GCSE modern foreign languages”, GOV.UK
- Ofqual blog, “Evaluating new GCSEs in French, German and Spanish” (ofqual.blog.gov.uk)