Conference Notes:

1. The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) is funded by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES), and is governed by a board appointed by Secretary of State for Education. QCA maintains and develops the National Curriculum, assessments and has overall responsibility for regulating the public examination system.
2. The National Assessment Agency (NAA) is a subsidiary of the QCA, and is now directly in charge of public examinations.
3. All major examination boards enjoy charitable status, and do not come under the control of the QCA, NAA, nor the DfES.
4. Exam Boards charge schools and colleges varying fees for providing examinations and marking.
5. The recent history of various 'gaffes' by the exam boards.
6. QCA consultation with a selection of teachers revealed a desire for 'a body publicly taking responsibility for the conduct and performance of the exam boards.'

Conference Believes:

1. It is an important goal for schools to offer a broad, challenging and balanced education, providing opportunities for students to enjoy all aspects of the curriculum: academic, physical and vocational.
2. This goal is undermined by the effects of the current system of competition between exam boards:
3. Exam boards only provide exams in subjects which are commercially viable.
4. The current educational climate means exam results are crucially important to schools, therefore they choose what they perceive to be the easiest exam syllabus, and exam boards try to create the easiest possible syllabuses.
5. Competition between exam boards could therefore be responsible for allegations about 'dumbing-down'.
6. The Government should have indirect control of an essential accessory to the education system - the exam system.
7. In particular, since the Government wishes all final year secondary students to take compulsory exams, and is trying to increase the popularity of vocational subjects, it should indirectly decide the content, implementation, and marking procedures for these exams.

Conference therefore calls for:

1. In the interests of simplicity and clarity, financial efficiency, control over educational standards, and an enhanced ability to achieve its aims the Government should take indirect control of providing examinations, by empowering, and compelling the QCA or NAA to set its own syllabuses.
2. QCA/ NAA to determine how many different syllabuses to offer per subject, taking account of the demand, justifying themselves to the Secretary of state for Education if necessary.
3. State educational institutions to be obliged to use the new syllabuses provided by QCA/ NAA.
4. QCA/ NAA to determine an appropriate fee to charge, for each examination taken. It would be up to each educational institution to decide whether or not to pass this fee onto the candidate.
5. State educational institutions to continue to receive funding for exam fees, under the existing model.
6. QCA to stop its existing function of accrediting and regulating the standard of qualifications offered by the existing exam boards.