Information about Edexcel

Edexcel is a London-based for-profit company and one of England, Wales and Northern Ireland's five main examination boards. The others are AQA, OCR, the WJEC and the CCEA. Its name is a portmanteau word derived from the words "educational" and "excellence". Edexcel offers a variety of qualifications to UK students, including A-levels, GCSEs and the BTEC suite of vocational qualifications. It is an international organisation, awarding over 1.5 million certificates to students around the world every year.

History

Edexcel was formed in 1996 by the merger of two bodies, the BTEC (Business & Technology Education Council) and ULEAC (University of London Examinations and Assessment Council). In 2003, the Edexcel Foundation (the charity which managed the board) formed a partnership with Pearson PLC to set up a new company called London Qualifications Ltd, which was 75% owned by Pearson and 25% by the Edexcel Foundation. London Qualifications Limited changed its name to Edexcel Limited in November 2004.

In 2005 Edexcel became the only large examination board to be held in private hands, when Pearson PLC took complete control. Edexcel subsequently received investment from their new parent company.

There have been problems in the past: Edexcel was widely derided when it turned out some of its mathematics questions were impossible to answer. The answer sheet for an AS-Level mathematics paper contained different numbers to the exam question.[1] It was detected eight hours before the exams started in the UK, by a school in Hong Kong which immediately informed Edexcel. However, Edexcel allowed the exams in Europe and the UK to continue without alerting the candidates or invigilators. During the marking process, compensation was given to candidates by giving credit to those who had used either the figures on the question paper or on the answer sheet.

Further controversy followed in 2005 when an investigation by The Times Educational Supplement revealed that scores as low as 16% could lead to a 'C' grade in Mathematics[2], and that some exam scripts were marked by university graduates, including Edexcel administration staff, rather than teachers.[3]

In 2003, it introduced an onscreen marking system, ePen, which Edexcel claim that it has brought dramatic benefits.

ePen has produced rich student performance data, at question level, which Edexcel has made available to schools through its Results Analysis Service (RAS) and from summer 2007, will form the basis of a new service to schools and students - Results Plus.

Diploma in Digital Applications

Edexcel's modernisation has led to the development of a suite of four new 'paperless' qualifications:

• AiDA (Award in Digital Applications, equivalent to one GCSE)
• CiDA (Certificate in Digital Applications, equivalent to two GCSEs)
• CiDA+ (Extended Certificate in Digital Applications, equivalent to three GCSEs)
• DiDA (Diploma in Digital Applications, equivalent to four GCSEs)

These 'paperless' qualifications are primarily designed to redress the perceived imbalance between those skills learnt in the classroom and the resulting application in the workplace. The new qualifications are designed to develop more practical skills while promoting independent learning and creativity. The qualifications have survived the initial stages of testing throughout the 2005-06 academic year and are expected to be rolled out in many more schools in the 2006-07 academic year. However there has been something of an exodus from the course during 2007 as students have been receiving poor results from the qualification and schools look for alternative courses that adequately reward student work.

BTEC

BTECs are Edexcel’s own brand qualification – they are exclusively offered by Edexcel and are recognised worldwide. BTECs range from Entry Level to Level 8 (graduate level) on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF), offering the only seamless progression route across all levels, starting with BTEC Firsts and Nationals as GCSE and A level equivalents. They are developed in consultation with industry and professionals, ensuring that they are relevant, progressive and recognised by professional bodies, employers and universities.

They are the fastest growing qualification in schools, and have high acceptance by employers. In 2005/06, 260,000 students studied BTECs at college; 63,000 studied BTECs in schools; 23,000 studied BTECs at University; and 14,000 employees studied a BTEC while at work.

BTECs are almost unique among qualifications in being able to bridge the magic divide - they are vocational qualifications that have gained a level of respectability normally only associated with academic qualifications. They provide a more practical, real-world approach to learning and skills development alongside a key theoretical background.

Music and Music Technology A-level

The neutrality of this section is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. This section has been tagged since April 2007.

In July 2006, Edexcel announced that it had decided not to seek re-accreditation for both GCE A-level Music and GCE A-level Music Technology from QCA, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, the regulatory body for public examinations [4]. In effect, they would no longer offer these A-level subjects after 2009 – the last AS cohort of students would begin in September 2007. This decision was reached without the consultation of senior examiners, schools or colleges.

Edexcel said that "the complexity of the current assessment model" and "constraints of QCA’s new subject criteria" make it impossible to produce a sustainable specification which will be attractive to schools and colleges.

Edexcel has, by far, the largest number of candidates entered for A-level Music - there seems to be no valid reason for this as the specifications of the three exam boards, OCR, AQA and Edexcel are relatively similar and the pass rates are also similar to within 1 or 2 percent.

Currently, Edexcel is the only examination board offering Music Technology AS and A2 qualifications. The decision to drop the subject in effect killed off A-level Music Technology at a time when student numbers were growing rapidly , centres had made significant investment in resources and Higher Education acceptance of the subject was growing .

This decision was subsequently reversed in an announcement by Jerry Jarvis, the Chief Executive of Edexcel on 21 July 2006, [5] but the fall out rumbled on and in the spring of 2007, shortly before the annual marking period, all the senior examiners for both AS and A2 Music Technology resigned from their posts.

External links

• Edexcel website
• Edexcel's student website
• BBC News report about the AS-level controversy