Below we have briefly outlined the different discounting rules applied by the DfE, and how you can reflect this for KS3/4 within Sisra Analytics. This includes:
- Early entry / First entry
- Pathway discounting (Exception discounting)
- Discount codes and AS levels
- Manual discounting
The information within this guide is taken from the latest DfE guidance linked in our article here (at the time of writing).
Why is Discounting applied?
“Discounting ensures that, where a pupil has taken two or more qualifications with an overlap in curriculum, the performance tables only give credit once for teaching a single course of study. The early entry policy (which came into effect on 29 September 2013) means credit is given to the first qualification taken where a pupil has more than one qualification in the same subject…. Discounting is only applied to qualifications which count in performance tables.”
First / Early Entry Discounting (2014 onwards)
The early entry rules came into effect on 29th September 2013 and were applied to EBacc eligible qualifications only at first. From this date, “only a student’s First entry to a GCSE examination will count in their school’s performance tables”.
From 2015 onwards, the DfE amended the early entry policy to affect ALL qualifications.
As an example, if a student resits a qualification before they’re reported at the end of KS4 (perhaps with a different Exam board), their first entry will be taken (after 29th September 2013).
2022 Changes
As part of the 2022 exam season, the DfE have stated that entries taken by students in 2020 and 2021 will not carry points towards Headline measures but can still count as entries. For example if a student took English Literature in the 2021 exam season and then took English Language in 2022, the English Literature will not count for A8/P8 but will still count as an entry to allow the English Language to be double weighted. In order for this guidance to be reflected in Analytics, you will need to publish grades with the 2022 DfE rules, further information on doing this can be found here: KS3/4 EAP - Publish Grades
| Below you can find more information on how to ensure accurate dates are entered for your grades, in order for early entries to be calculated accurately. |
How does Analytics identify a student's first entry?
Analytics uses the ‘Exams Date’ or ‘Results Date’ columns to determine which grade is a student’s first entry in KS4. It is essential that you reflect accurate dates to ensure the correct grade is pulled through and counted towards school performance measures in the reports.
In brief, you enter the Exams date when uploading your grades files (and that date is therefore applied to all grades in that respective file), or edit these dates after upload. This means if your file contains grades sat on different dates, you may need to upload them in separate files as shown in the example below, so you can accurately reflect their Exams dates.
You can also amend the Exams date for individual student’s grades in GRADES > Grades Management > select the data set and assessment collection (if applicable) > click on the grade count for the qualification > select the student in the Actions column > ‘Edit Date’.
| This is applied to all standalone data sets (such as Exams, Targets, Mocks, etc.) and Assessments in KS3/4. |
How do we define the 'Exams Date'?
The DfE state that the date of the first or only Exam is used as their Exams date and they should be available from the associated Exam boards. If there is no formal Exam date, the certification date or coursework deadline date is used.
What if first entry discounting can't be applied?
If Analytics is unable to apply first entry discounting, then best grade discounting will be applied; in which a student’s best grade will be counted towards the relevant figures. This will occur in the following situations:
- At least one grade (of two) has a date on or before 29th September 2013
- The grades share the same Exam/Results date
How many non-GCSE qualifications can count?
Note: When completing the Matching page using QN codes, the KS4 Measure column will be automatically populated for you, based on DfE guidance.
The number of non-GCSEs that can count towards performance measures, such as Attainment 8, changes between years, as listed below. This is based on qualifications set to Non-GCSE in the KS4 Measure column on the Matching page:
2015 - Maximum of 2 non-GCSEs per student
If a GCSE and a non-GCSE share the same discount code and a student took the non-GCSE after the 29th September 2013, then this grade will be given a later date so that the GCSE is always counted (and seen as the student's first entry) and the non-GCSE is discounted.
2016 onwards - Maximum of 3 non-GCSEs per student
This rule no longer applies and non-GCSEs are not given a post-GCSE date within that academic year in Analytics. You must ensure that you give any discounting GCSE/non-GCSE grades the appropriate results or the coursework deadline date when uploading the grades.
Exception Discounting (Special column)
Note: When completing the Matching page using QN codes, the Special column will be automatically populated for you and exceptions discounting applied, where applicable.
There are some situations, usually with English, Maths, and Science, where first entry discounting and discount codes will not suffice due to specific qualification combinations (pathway discounting). For example:
- English (Combined) against English Language and English Literature
- Mathematics against Mathematics linked pair (Applications & Methods)
- Combined Science or Science Core/Additional against Biology, Chemistry, and Physics
In this case, Analytics uses the Special column on the Matching page to identify what pathway a student is taking in a particular subject area, and apply exceptions discounting for pathways (to a degree). The special nominations and respective pathways are:
| Maths Pathway 1 | English Pathway 1 | Science Pathway 1 |
|
|
|
| Maths Pathway 2 | English Pathway 2 | Science Pathway 2 |
|
|
|
As an example, if a student sat Combined Science (nominated as ‘Science’ in the Special column) and then the next day took an Exam in Biology (‘Bio/Chem/Phys’ in the Special column), Analytics will identify that the students have a grade in two different Science pathways, and therefore take the first entry as their pathway (in this case, the Combined Science grade would be used).
There are some exemptions to these rules (such as Science BTEC/GCSE and English Language GCSE/ iGCSE). If you have a Science BTEC which will discount against a Science GCSE (or an English Language GCSE that will discount an English Language iGCSE).
Discount Codes
Note: When completing the Matching page using QN codes, the Barring Code column will be automatically populated for you and discounting applied, where applicable.
When qualifications have curriculum that is seen to overlap (usually in the same subject area), students can only count their results from one, towards school performance measures. Qualifications are issued ‘discount codes’ by the DfE to help schools identify where qualifications would discount one another. If qualifications share the same code, they’re seen to discount one another.
Where qualifications share the same code (depending on the cohort), first entry rules will be applied to identify which grade should count for the student towards the school measures.
AS Levels in KS4
If students take an AS level (Level 3 qualification) in the same subject area as a L2 qualification (and they discount one another), the DfE state that the ‘lower level’ qualification will be discounted, despite first entry rules. Analytics can automatically apply this ‘rule’ if:
- Identical discount codes are in the Barring Code column.
- The AS qualification is set to “AS Level” in the KS4 Measure column.
|
AS LEVELS (and other Level 3 qualifications) “If a level 3 qualification is taken in the same subject with the same discount code as a level 1 or level 2 qualification, the lower level qualification is discounted. For example an AS discounts a GCSE”. This is stated on page 5 of this guidance. |
How does Analytics know which grade to count?
Sisra Analytics will then apply the following rules (if a student takes two qualifications that discount) to determine which grade to count:
- If a level 3 qualification is taken in the same subject, with the same discount code, the lower level qualification is discounted (e.g. an AS vs. a GCSE).
- If they’re level 1 or level 2 qualifications, the first entry would be taken.
- If they were taken on the same day, the best result will be taken.
Manual Discounting
Due to the complexity of discounting rules, there are certain situations where no combination of the discounting elements above will correctly cater for all students. Therefore, we have a manual discounting function within Analytics that surpasses every other type of discounting.
|
You should only need to use this option if the above methods have not correctly discounted for students. |
To manually discount grades, go to DATA > select keystage and cohort > GRADES > Grades Management > Discounting.
To discount a student’s grade(s) in a qualification, click on the blue number for any qualification.
On the next page, select which student you wish to discount the grade for, then click ‘Discount Selected’.
Then select which qualification you want to manually discount this grade by and click ‘Add Discounting’. When the GRADES data is republished, any grades within that discounted qualification will show as discounted.
Please note, the qualifications used in our screenshots are an example ONLY. You must check whether the specific qualifications taken at your school discount one another.
If a grade is discounted by manual discounting, then it cannot discount another qualification elsewhere.
Report Icons
In the KS3/4 reports, icons will be displayed within any ‘Eligibility’ columns to indicate whether or not they count towards Headline figures.
At the bottom of the report, there is a legend indicating what each icon refers to. This legend varies depending on which key stage you are working with.
Thanks for reading.