A LEVEL REFORM

2. 2 A LEVEL REFORM

3. The process: HE involvement • Ministerial concern: is GCE providing adequate progression to degree level? • We held in-depth conversations with 80+ academics, as well as practitioners and stakeholders • A level English is not broken • …but there are identifiable areas of weakness in first-year undergraduates • Awarding Bodies working together with Ofqual on sharing this evidence to create new criteria, and address these issues

4. The process: HE involvement • Literature undergraduates need to be better at: • Close reading skills, and related critical terminology • Independent thinking and study skills • Essay writing and general written articulacy • Wide reading (with adequate historical breadth) • Confidence with poetry • Not making sweeping generalisations about literary theory

5. The process: HE involvement • Language undergraduates need to be better at: • Knowledge of grammar/phonetics/descriptive linguistics • Understanding of language as a concept • Writing skills • Numeracy and data analysis • Note: different departments have very different views (e.g. on creative writing) • GCE English Language also a bit of an outlier in this regard: very few HEIs ask for it as entry requirement due to take-up

6. The process: HE involvement • What about GCE Language and Literature? • As well as Literature, Language and Linguistics departments, we also spoke to a range of lecturers representing the broader gamut of ‘English Studies’ • Support the integrated nature of the 2008 specifications • Reiterated the points about writing skills, wider reading, knowledge of grammar, close reading, and being able to situate a text within a cultural/historical context • Context more important than ‘arbitrary comparison’

7. What have you told us? • The jump to AS is a big one, particularly in Language • Dealing with ‘core’ and ‘secondary’ texts is difficult • Atomistic AO treatment has detrimental effects • Don’t assume learners at this level all have a love of reading • Covering all the content prior to the AS exam can be difficult • Coursework / independent study is very important • Unseen, recreative writing, creative writing, language investigation = all valid and important assessment types • Clear mark schemes are really important We will try to respond to as much of this feedback as possible in the development.

8. The new subject criteria Literature • 8 texts, not 12, to facilitate in-depth reading and move away from ‘secondary texts’ • 6 texts reduced down to 4 at AS • Some date ranges have changed: post-1990 becomes post-2000; greater emphasis on pre-1900 texts • Unseen assessment will be a compulsory requirement • Less emphasis on comparison, in favour of ‘connections’ • 20% coursework

9. The new subject criteria • Language • 20% coursework • Tightened technical vocabulary to ensure correct / up-to-date • Minor amendments to the subject content, to include the study of historical, geographical, social and individual varieties of English, as well as aspects of language and identity.  • Language and Literature • 20% coursework • Less prescription re genre at both AS and A Level • One of the texts studied must be non-literary • Inclusion of specific language levels • Emphasis on comparison is reduced

10. A level and AS • A levels will be two-year courses, with all the examinations taken in the May / June of Year 13 • AS will be exist – but as a standalone qualification – any AS result won’t count towards the A level grade • Awarding organisations can design their AS courses so that they are, as far as is possible, co-teachable with full A level courses • However, the standard will be different: an AS question on dystopian novels, for example, will have different expectations to an A level question on the same texts