Special Educational Needs: Visual Impairment

(asked on 6th March 2019) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 7 February to Question 216193 on Special Educational Needs: Visual Impairment, what powers have been awarded to the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation to follow up with awarding organisations when mistakes in adapted past papers and national tests for young people with a visual impairment are reported.


Answered by
Nick Gibb Portrait
Nick Gibb
This question was answered on 11th March 2019

In relation to qualifications, this is a matter for Ofqual, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation. I have asked its Chief Regulator, Sally Collier, to write to the Hon. Member and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Ofqual regulates statutory national curriculum assessments. In doing this they have two statutory objectives: to promote the development and implementation of national assessments which give a reliable indication of achievement and indicate a consistent level of attainment, including over time, between comparable assessments; and to promote public confidence in national assessments. Ofqual has no specific powers to follow up with the Standards and Testing Agency (STA) if there are mistakes in national tests. Modified tests are developed by a Modified Test Agency contracted to STA, who conduct Quality Assurance proofing at different stages in the development of materials. STA also engages external proofers during this process to ensure that any errors in questions are detected and rectified before materials are sent to schools.

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