ERIC Number: EJ1180251
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018
Pages: 20
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0305-4985
EISSN: N/A
Inter-Subject Comparability of Examination Standards in GCSE and GCE in England
He, Qingping; Stockford, Ian; Meadows, Michelle
Oxford Review of Education, v44 n4 p494-513 2018
Results from Rasch analysis of GCSE and GCE A level data over a period of four years suggest that the standards of examinations in different subjects are not consistent in terms of the levels of the latent trait specified in the Rasch model required to achieve the same grades. Variability in statistical standards between subjects exists at both individual grade level and the overall subject level. Findings from this study are generally consistent with those from previous studies using similar statistical models. It has been demonstrated that the alignment of statistical standards between subjects based on the Rasch model would likely result in substantial change in performance standards of the examinations for some subjects evidenced here by significant changes in grade boundary scores and grade outcomes. It is argued that the defined purposes of GCSE and A level qualifications determine how their results should be interpreted and reported and that the existing grading and results reporting procedures are appropriate for supporting these purposes.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Exit Examinations, Intellectual Disciplines, Item Response Theory, Test Items, Academic Standards, Statistical Analysis, Alignment (Education), Scores, Outcomes of Education, Test Interpretation, Grading, Models, Secondary School Students
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom (England)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A