Give me some resources to grade those exams, those types of things.
"The external markers grade the exams (as opposed to the controlled assessments graded by teachers) and that's where the issue has arisen, " she said.
Education Minister Leighton Andrews came under fire this summer when he ordered the WJEC board, which sets most of the GCSEs taken by Welsh pupils, to re-grade English exams.
Every year, about 36, 000 students entering kindergarten through third grade take the exams to try to snag a coveted spot in one of the programs.
WSJ: Testing Firm Is Under Fire Due to Errors Scoring School Exams
The group says students were treated unfairly when exam boards raised the mark needed for a grade C between exams taken in January and June.
Mr Andrews came under fire last summer when he ordered the WJEC board, which sets most of the GCSEs taken by Welsh pupils, to re-grade English language exams after the results were published.
BBC: WJEC says Leighton Andrews could damage Wales exam system
Head teachers in England urged Ofqual to investigate when it was revealed that grade boundaries for the exams were changed part way through the year.
According to figures from the Joint Council for General Qualifications - which compiles figures for all exam boards in Wales - 59.7% of all entries passed the exams with grade C or above.
They will say that between January and June 2012 it was decided that too many students were going to get a C grade or better in GCSE English, so a decision was taken to push up grade boundaries for the exams marked in June to bring down the numbers of good grades for the year as a whole.
In its own report into the controversy, published on 2 November, Ofqual concluded that pressure on schools in England to hit targets led to overgenerous marking of coursework by teachers and that, as a result, external examiners had to raise grade boundaries in the June exams.
BBC: Heads challenge Ofqual to publish all GCSE grade research
Instructors can create and grade randomized homework, quizzes or exams.
Ofqual's research found many schools used the marks pupils received in their first exams and the January grade boundaries to work out what score a pupil would need in their controlled assessment to get a certain grade and marked it accordingly.
BBC: GCSE English: Teachers' anger over generous marking claim
Every year through to Grade 12, we sit three exams at the end of each term for every single subject, and the final term exam we have to pass (and pass it well), or we fail and we would have to repeat the year, while some of our friends move on.
Some states and districts are looking to adopt a system like the one in Hillsborough County Public Schools in Florida, where the district created exams for every subject at every grade five years ago in an effort to award merit pay to teachers.
On Wednesday lawyers representing Edexcel told the High Court that grade boundaries had to be raised for the June exams compared to those in January to stop an "unacceptable lowering of the standard required for a C in GCSE English, as compared with the standard in previous years".
The exams are "computer adaptive, " meaning questions begin at grade level but get tougher or easier based on how well the student does.
The real pressure to introduce another grade was from politicians, she suggested, who wanted to defend themselves against accusations of exams getting easier.
Again, with the caution that exams taken in isolation cannot be easily assessed, he says that a D grade is much too low - and he suggests that a B might be more appropriate.
Ofqual says across all the exams, about one in five requests for re-marks led to a new grade being given and that was similar to last year.
Under the current arrangements the speaking and listening controlled assessment makes up 20% of the overall grade, with 40% on the reading and writing controlled assessment and 40% on the written exams.
BBC: GCSE English plan leaves speaking test out of final grade
The subsequent results show that the children who received vouchers were 15-20% more likely to finish secondary education, five percentage points less likely to repeat a grade, scored a bit better on scholastic tests and were much more likely to take college entrance exams.
ECONOMIST: Education vouchers: Free to choose, and learn | The
For primary education, there are three exams which assess literacy, numeracy and integrated sciences, and can certify fourth, sixth and eighth grade degrees.
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