Candidates sitting GCSE computer science will be assessed on their computer programming skills via exams from 2022, Ofqual has announced.

The exam regulator said it would not specify the “form this assessment should take”, meaning awarding bodies would be free to test candidates using technology or pen and paper-based exams. 

In January 2018, Ofqual decided that coursework that was designed to assess candidates’ programming skills would not count towards pupils’ GCSE grades, after the regulator discovered widespread malpractice had taken place.

Teachers and students were found to have discussed online solutions and advice for the non-exam assessment - a practical project assessing pupils’ programming skills - contrary to exam board rules.

In November 2018 Ofqual launched a consultation on how programming should be assessed in the future, and it published its decision this afternoon.

“We have decided to implement our preferred option - assessing programming skills via examination,” the decision document states.

Computer programming exams

It goes on: “However, we are not specifying the form this assessment should take beyond the requirement that it meets our definition of an exam.

“This affords exam boards the opportunity to be innovative in their approach to assessing programming skills.”

Programming skills will be assessed via an exam from 2022, with this component making up 30 per cent of the final GCSE grade.

As part of the GCSE, schools will also be required to confirm to their exam board that their pupils have been given the opportunity to complete a programming task as part of their course.

The interim arrangements introduced by Ofqual in January 2018, which require schools to set aside 20 timetabled hours for students to undertake an unmarked programming task, will remain in place for students sitting exams up to 2021.

In Ofqual’s consultation, the regulator raised the prospect that pupils could sit their programming exams using pen and paper, following concerns about the quality of school IT. 

Today’s decision document refers to concerns expressed by the NEU teaching union that “100 per cent exam assessment could lead to an increase in paper-based working… and the disengagement of those students who enjoy working with computers”.

“This assumes the form of assessment which exam boards would adopt would fit a ‘conventional’ model of traditional examinations completed with pen and paper,” the document says. 

“Our proposals would not require this. However, and there is an opportunity for exam boards to assess programming skills using technology.”

Ofqual said that not introducing exam assessment for programming until 2022 would give boards the opportunity to “consult with stakeholders and be innovative in their approach”.

Sally Collier, chief regulator of Ofqual, said: “We can now give certainty to teachers, schools and colleges about how GCSE computer science will be assessed in the long term.

“Our requirements will allow the programming skills to be effectively assessed and mean that all students will have the opportunity to carry out practical programming work as part of their course.

“I am also pleased to be encouraging innovation and allowing exam boards to respond to schools and colleges in a way that works for them. We were encouraged by the level of support for our proposals.”