Written question asked by Lord Mann (Labour) on Wednesday, 13 July 2011, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 18 July 2011. It was answered by Nick Gibb (Conservative) on Tuesday, 19 July 2011 on behalf of the Department for Education.

Schools: Assessments

Question: (4) on what dates he received assurances from Ofqual that there were no further errors in examination questions for exams taken in summer 2011;

Answer: The errors that have come to light in GCSEs and A Levels examination papers are extremely serious and are unacceptable. I can confirm that Ofqual has now announced that they are carrying out an inquiry to discover the causes of these errors. A copy of this inquiry will be placed in the House Libraries. The aims of the inquiry are to:"Establish the facts and find out the root causes of the errors;""Inform decisions about further regulatory action relating to the errors;""Consider how effectively the awarding bodies have communicated with candidates, schools, colleges and other stakeholders;""Identify any improvements necessary in awarding bodies' procedures; and""Consider arrangements for risk management and redress that should be used in the future and any implications for regulatory arrangements."The inquiry will take into account information and views that Ofqual has already received from sources including exam candidates, schools and colleges, parents and student representatives.Separate from the inquiry, the regulators will continue their work to monitor the actions being taken by the awarding bodies to make sure that candidates who have faced exam paper errors this summer are, as far as possible, not unfairly disadvantaged or advantaged.I have asked Ofqual to write directly to the hon. Member, to provide the detail requested. A copy of their reply will be placed in the House Libraries.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 66934; 531 c913W
Session: 2010-12
Related items: Deposited Paper DEP2011-1330
Tuesday, 19 July 2011
Deposited papers
House of Commons
Subjects: Assessments Schools
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk