05 Nov 2019
Cambridge Assessment International Education welcomes today’s report published by England’s Department for Education (DfE).
This report shows clearly that Cambridge IGCSE is the same standard as GCSEs in England. As the Minister for School Standards, Nick Gibb MP, says in his letter to the UK House of Commons Education Select Committee, the DfE has found “no evidence of systematic differences in standard between Cambridge’s IGCSEs and GCSEs”.
The DfE’s confirmation that Cambridge IGCSE standards are well aligned to GCSE comes at the end of an in-depth statistical analysis it carried out across over 20 subjects. Cambridge International has worked openly and transparently with the DfE to provide data on student performance and our standard setting in exams.
The DfE’s report shows some slight variation in English language and English literature in the June 2018 exams. We are using the DfE’s findings to inform our standard setting, and remain committed to making sure all subjects taken in Cambridge IGCSE align closely with GCSE. We welcome the report’s findings that small variations in standards between different qualifications and between years are normal.
Cambridge International CEO Christine Özden said:
“We welcome this confirmation that Cambridge IGCSE is aligned closely with the GCSE. We are completely committed to maintaining comparability with GCSE.
“Cambridge IGCSE is an international qualification, and is used by nearly 5,000 schools in 150 countries. The content and structure of Cambridge IGCSE was a model for the new GCSE in England, so we take some pride as the new GCSE becomes more established.”