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Edexcel is a London-based organisation and one of England, Wales and Northern Ireland's five main examination boards. The others are AQA, OCR, the WJEC and the CCEA. Its name is a portmanteau word derived from the words "educational" and "excellence". Edexcel offers a variety of qualifications to UK students, including A-levels, GCSEs and the BTEC suite of vocational qualifications. It is an international organisation, awarding over 1.5 million certificates to students around the world every year.

Contents 1 History 2 Results Plus 3 DiDA and other paperless qualifications 4 BTEC 5 Music and Music Technology A-level 6 External links

Edexcel was formed in 1996 by the merger of two bodies, the BTEC (Business & Technology Education Council) and ULEAC (University of London Examinations and Assessment Council). In 2003, the Edexcel Foundation (the charity which managed the board) formed a partnership with Pearson PLC to set up a new company called London Qualifications Ltd, which was 75% owned by Pearson and 25% by the Edexcel Foundation. London Qualifications Limited changed its name to Edexcel Limited in November 2004.

In 2005 Edexcel became the only large examination board to be held in private hands, when Pearson PLC took complete control. Due to investment from Pearson, Edexcel has been able to invest heavily in new technology and innovative qualifications, products and services.

There have been problems in the past: Edexcel was widely derided when it turned out some of its mathematics questions were impossible to answer. The answer sheet for an AS-Level mathematics paper contained different numbers to the exam question.[1] It was detected eight hours before the exams started in the UK, by a school in Hong Kong which immediately informed Edexcel. However, Edexcel allowed the exams in Europe and the UK to continue without alerting the candidates or invigilators. During the marking process, compensation was given to candidates by giving credit to those who had used either the figures on the question paper or on the answer sheet.

Edexcel has often come under fire for operational errors, unfair marking and unusually difficult paper setting. One of the most dramatic events in its history was the debacle surrounding the 2001-2002 mathematics papers and their marking. This led to an audit of Edexcel by the QCA in 2001.

A familiar assessment controversy returned in 2005 when investigation by The Times Educational Supplement revealed that scores as low as 16% could gain a 'C' grade in mathematics[2] and that exam scripts were being marked by office staff and students [3].

Currently however, Edexcel has shown remarkable growth, is clearly providing what leaners need and is growing rapidly globally.

In 2003, it introduced the pioneering onscreen marking system, ePen, which brought dramatic benefits, including improved marking quality, earlier results delivery, increased security, reduced marker and administrative errors and fewer lost scripts.

ePen has produced rich student performance data, at question level, which Edexcel has made available to schools through its Results Analysis Service (RAS) and from summer 2007, will form the basis of a new service to schools and students - Results Plus.

Results Plus is a new service that will provide schools with analysis of results and performance diagnosis at a cohort and individual student level. It will allow teachers to produce comprehensive reports to ascertain how the syllabus is being delivered and levels of achievement against this, helping them to meet the challenge of raising attainment in core subjects.

Results Plus will also enable students to pick up their results online. Through Edexcel’s student-dedicated website Examzone, they will be able to view onscreen their overall grade, UMS score, a Gradeometer representing how close they were to the nearest grade boundary and links to useful information and sources of support.

Edexcel's modernisation has led to the development of the DiDA qualification. DiDA (Diploma in Digital Applications) is one of three newly-created paperless qualifications: AiDA (Applications in Digital Applications) - equivalent to one GCSE; CiDA (Certificate in Digital Applications) - equivalent to two GCSEs; and finally DiDA (Diploma in Digital Applications) - equivalent to four GCSEs.

These 'paperless' qualifications are primarily designed to redress the perceived imbalance between those skills learnt in the classroom and the resulting application in the workplace. The new qualifications are designed to develop more practical skills whilst promoting independent learning and creativity. The qualifications have survived the initial stages of testing throughout the academic year 2005-06 and are expected to be rolled out in many more schools beginning academic year 2006-07. However there has been something of an exodus from the course during 2007 as students have been recieving poor results from the qualification and schools look for alternative courses that adequately reward student work.

BTECs are Edexcel’s own brand qualification – they are exclusively offered by Edexcel and are recognised worldwide. BTECs range from Entry Level to Level 8 (graduate level) on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF), offering the only seamless progression route across all levels, starting with BTEC Firsts and Nationals as GCSE and A level equivalents. They are developed in consultation with industry and professionals, ensuring that they are relevant, progressive and recognised by professional bodies, employers and universities.

They are the fastest growing qualification in schools, and have high acceptance by employers. In 2005/06, 260,000 students studied BTECs at college; 63,000 studied BTECs in schools; 23,000 studied BTECs at University; and 14,000 employees studied a BTEC whilst at work.

BTECs are almost unique amongst qualifications in being able to bridge the magic divide - they are vocational qualifications that have gained a level of respectability normally only associated with academic qualifications. They provide a more practical, real-world approach to learning and skills development alongside a key theoretical background.

In July 2006, Edexcel announced that it had decided not to seek re-accreditation for both GCE A-level Music and GCE A-level Music Technology from QCA, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, the regulatory body for public examinations. In effect, they would no longer offer these A-level subjects after 2009 – the last AS cohort of students would begin in September 2007. This decision was reached without the consultation of senior examiners, schools or colleges.

Edexcel said that "the complexity of the current assessment model" and "constraints of QCA’s new subject criteria" make it impossible to produce a sustainable specification which will be attractive to schools and colleges.

Edexcel has, by far, the largest number of candidates entered for A-level Music because many centres consider that their specification is most suited to preparing students for progression to degree study and, despite some problems with administration of the coursework elements, the course offers a good balance of knowledge and skills with sufficient flexibility to support specialism.

Currently, Edexcel is the only examination board offering Music Technology AS and A2 qualifications. The decision, in effect, killed off A-level Music Technology at a time when student numbers were growing rapidly, centres had made significant investment in resources, and Higher Education acceptance of the subject was good and improving.

This decision was subsequently reversed in an announcement by Jerry Jarvis, the Chief Executive of Edexcel on 21 July 2006. [4]

• Edexcel website
• Edexcel's student website
• BBC News report about the AS-level controversy