Ofqual
Detail of outcome
Ofqual has decided to implement the proposals set out in the consultation document. No issues were raised by those responding to the consultation that have made it necessary to revise the proposals, and making these changes will mean that Ofquals rules align with the revised subject content requirements set by DfE.
Ofqual will, therefore, remove the specific requirement in place before the pandemic for the assessments to use vocabulary that is not on the vocabulary lists. The exam boards can now give the meaning of (gloss) unfamiliar vocabulary, if they consider this necessary.
Feedback received
Detail of feedback received
The consultation on the proposal to carry forward to future assessments the changes made to last years qualifications on the use of vocabulary was published on Ofquals website and available for responses, using the online form, between 29 September and 20 October 2022.
The consultation included closed questions where respondents could indicate the extent to which they agreed or disagreed with the proposals. These questions used a 5-point scale (Strongly agree, Agree, Neither agree nor disagree, Disagree and Strongly disagree) and open questions, inviting comments.
Respondents could use the open questions to identify any impacts of the proposals on equalities or regulatory considerations.
Respondents could choose to respond to questions in the consultation. They did not have to respond to them all. This analysis provides the number of responses received for each question. It also provides tables of the responses to the closed questions and presented them as charts. There are some instances where percentages total more than 100. This is due to the rounding of the individual percentages.
All responses to the open questions have been read in full, with the key themes that emerged presented in the discussion.
Respondents were asked to identify which group they belonged to, for example: teacher or student. The total numbers for each respondent group are set out in the table below, based on these descriptions. The tables use these unverified self-descriptions.
Some respondents chose to express their views in response to an open question without specifically answering the question. The analysis considered these responses but does not include them in the data.
Original consultation
Consultation description
Ofqual invites your views on a proposed adaptation to the assessment of GCSE modern foreign languages (MFL) qualifications for students in England taking exams from summer 2023.
We propose carrying forward to future assessments the changes we made to last years qualifications in respect of the use of vocabulary. In summer 2022, these changes allowed the exam boards greater flexibility by:
- removing the specific requirement that existed in previous years for the assessments to use vocabulary that is not on the vocabulary lists
- permitting exam boards to give the meaning of (gloss) unfamiliar vocabulary if they consider this necessary
Our proposals are in response to a separate consultation launched by the Department for Education (DfE). DfE is consulting on a minor amendment to their published subject content to make this change on an ongoing basis for all GCSE modern foreign languages.