From September 2015, the way that A Levels and AS Levels are taught will be changing. Many subjects, including Art and Design, Biology and English (language, literature and combined) will become linear subjects, with the AS and A Level qualifications being decoupled. Qualifications are set to be decoupled in phases, with 13 subjects undergoing reform from September 2015, and remaining subjects undergoing reform from September 2016 or September 2017. For more information, see: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/get-the-facts-gcse-and-a-level-reform/get-the-facts-as-and-a-level-reform. 

These changes means that students will be encouraged to decide in advance whether they want to take a subject as an AS Level or an A Level, unlike the previous system where the majority of students would take the AS Level exam in each of their chosen courses, before deciding which to continue to A Level (with their AS Level grade contributing towards 50% of their final result). Following the reform, if a student takes the AS Level exam but then decides to continue the subject to A Level, their AS Level result will not be counted towards their final grade. 

This change in Post-16 education will have quite an impact on both teachers and students alike. One issue in particular is the matter of co-teachability.  Whilst many qualification providers have endeavoured to ensure that this is possible, it is difficult to predict how this will work in practice. To reiterate, the AS Level and A Level are being decoupled, so the AS is no longer akin to the first year of an A Level qualification and their linear quality could make co-teaching difficult. However, whilst some Post-16 providers will have the resources and staffing levels needed to teach the A and AS Levels separately, others may struggle. 

At Learning Plus UK Data Ltd., we are in the process of updating all of our products in preparation for the upcoming reform, and are keen to ensure that our tools continue to aid and support education data management for our subscribers, regardless of how they plan to manage these changes.  

We conducted a survey to give us a clearer understanding of how different centres will be working with the A Level reform. In particular, we were interested in whether our subscribers plan to teach A and AS level students separately, or continue to teach the two groups alongside one another. We were also curious about planned assessment – with no formal exam at the end of the first year of A Levels, how do our subscribers intend to monitor progress?

The feedback we received was interesting and informative. Some of this confirmed our earlier understanding, but there were a few surprising responses too. We have decided to share our anonymised survey results and would be interested to know whether our findings match the intentions of your post-16 centre. Will you be continuing to teach A and AS Level students together, or do you believe that this will not be possible? How will you be assessing students under the new linear format?

To share your thoughts, explore our Big Numbers and join us on Twitter (@learningplusuk), on our Post-16 Learning Forum or LinkedIn group.  Alternatively, if you would like to take part in our survey, you can do so here.