This article focuses on A Levels and AS Levels, which are the most common general (academic) qualifications taken by young people aged 16 to 18/19 in full-time (ISCED 3) education. A Levels are also the most common entry qualification for higher education.

A Levels and AS Levels are single-subject qualifications available in a wide range of subjects. Students typically take three or four subjects at AS Level in Year 13 (aged 16-17), and continue with two or three of these subjects to A Level in Year 14 (age 17-18). Some applied (vocational) A / AS Level subjects are available.

The qualifications offered in schools and colleges are influenced by the accountability system. Post-primary schools are required to provide information on A Level and AS Level results through the Summary of Annual Examination Results (SAER) exercise. This process collates summary, school-level examinations data and validates it with schools. Such information is published each year to inform bodies responsible for monitoring educational standards in Northern Ireland, such as the Department of Education (DE), the Education Authority and the Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI). Further information is available from the DE.

The Department for the Economy (DfE) also collects information annually on qualifications achieved in further education (FE) colleges. This forms part of the Further Education Activity by Local Government District factsheet, which looks at trends in FE activity by geographical area.

Pupil/students assessment 

Responsibility for the assessment of students on A Level and AS Level courses is shared.

The Department of Education (DE) has overall responsibility for assessment and qualifications. It approves all qualifications taken by young people under 19 years of age, including A Levels, under Section 81 of the Education (Northern Ireland) Order 1998.

The Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) is the independent regulator of qualifications taken in schools and further education (FE) colleges. It is responsible, on behalf of the DE, for approving all qualifications offered to young people under the age of 19. It is a non-departmental public body operating under Part VIII of the Education (Northern Ireland) Order 1998.

Awarding organisations, or AOs, design qualifications in line with regulatory requirements set by the CCEA.

The Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI) is responsible for the inspection of schools and colleges, and judges the effectiveness and impact of planning, teaching and assessment. The Education and Libraries Northern Ireland Order 1986 forms the legal basis of its work.

Schools and colleges are responsible for assessing pupil learning, for informing pupils and parents of progress, and for ensuring that the qualifications available to young people are fit-for-purpose. They are also responsible for complying with statutory assessment, examinations and qualifications requirements. Responsibility is shared between the principal, the board of governors and individual teachers / lecturers.

Pupil records and reports 

FE colleges normally provide students with written progress reports once or twice during the academic year, based on teachers’ / lecturers’ assessment.

Grant-aided schools must provide all students following post-16 programmes with an annual written progress report. This is required under The Education (Pupil Reporting) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009.

This report must include details of any qualification, award or certificate gained by the pupil, along with brief details of the pupil’s achievement in any area of learning or activity which forms part of his / her curriculum. It must be provided no later than 30 June of the school year to which the information relates (the school year ends in early July). Where the results of examinations are not received by the school before the end of the summer term, the headteacher must make this information available as soon as reasonably practicable. Guidance is provided in Department of Education Circular 2009/15.

Progression of pupils/students 

Progression of students is a matter for individual schools and colleges.

A Level courses last two years (Years 13 and 14, ages 16 to 18); AS Level courses last one year (Year 13, ages 16-17). Schools and colleges may determine that a student’s progression to Year 14 is dependent on the outcome of the AS Level qualifications taken at the end of Year 13.

Certification

A Levels and AS Levels are provided and certified by external awarding organisations, working within a common regulatory framework. For further information on the regulation of qualifications, see the article on the ‘National Qualifications Framework’.

Assessment arrangements form part of individual qualification specifications; all available qualification specifications can be accessed via the Register of Regulated Qualifications.

All A and AS Levels must comply with the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment’s (CCEA’s) GCE and GCSE Qualifications Criteria, which cover assessment design and delivery and the determination and issuing of results. They must also meet the Qualification Level Conditions for GCE and GCSE.

Individual schools and colleges choose the A Level and AS Level qualifications to offer to their students from those available from the awarding organisations. They may choose to offer A and AS Levels from different awarding organisations, in Northern Ireland, England or Wales, for different subjects, but must be approved and registered with an awarding organisation as an examination centre in order to conduct A and AS Level examinations.

Assessment is mainly by written examination, although other types of assessment are used where appropriate. In some subjects, for example, internal (‘controlled’) assessment under teacher supervision is used. This takes place in those subjects where it is regarded as the most appropriate method of assessing content, such as art and design, nutrition and food science, and music.

Marking and grading 

After students have taken their AS / A Level examinations in May / June, the papers are marked by the awarding organisation’s examiners. AS Level passes are graded on a five-point scale: A, B, C, D, E (where A is high). There is a six-point scale for A Level passes: A*, A, B, C, D, E. The grade U denotes a fail. An A Level pass is a Level 3 qualification on the Regulated Qualifications Framework.

The awarding organisation’s examiners are trained to mark to a required standard using a mark scheme and, once all exam papers have been marked, grade boundaries are set.

Results and certificates 

Awarding organisations release results to centres and candidates in August. For candidates who are holding provisional offers of places from universities, the results are sent directly to the universities by the awarding organisation. Results are deemed to be provisional to allow any queries to be resolved before certificates are issued.

Certificates are sent to schools about eight weeks after results day. They include the following information:

• date of exam series (e.g. May/June 2019)
• awarding organisation
• centre (e.g. school or college)
• student details
• qualification name and number
• grade awarded.

A Level/AS Level reform 

A Level and AS Level qualifications in Northern Ireland were reformed during the period 2015-18. The reforms were intended to ensure that the qualifications reflect the needs of the local economy and equip learners for the future. The first revised qualifications were available to schools in Northern Ireland in September 2016 (for examination in 2018). Further revised A and AS Levels were introduced for first teaching from September 2017 and September 2018.

The key changes in Northern Ireland are:

• Where AS Levels contribute to the overall mark for the full A Level, they account for 40% of the total mark, compared to 50% previously. (In England, all AS Levels are now standalone qualifications and do not contribute to the overall mark for the full A Level qualification.)
• AS Level examinations can be taken either at the end of the AS course or alongside the units taken at the end of the full A Level course. (In England, AS and A Levels are now linear qualifications, with all examinations taken at the end of the course.)
• Where A/AS Levels in Northern Ireland are modular (or ‘unitised’), units can be retaken by students only once.

Article last reviewed April 2021.