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Exams on a screen: Ofqual widens digital testing for the new V Levels

Qurexa Editorial Team14 September 20266 min read 0 0
Exams on a screen: Ofqual widens digital testing for the new V Levels

What happened

Ofqual, the exams regulator for England, has decided to allow on-screen assessment for more of the new V Level qualifications than it originally planned. V Levels are new vocational qualifications designed to give students a clear route into skilled careers. They sit alongside A levels and T Levels as a technical option, and the first ones are due to launch next September. Ofqual had originally proposed allowing on-screen timetabled assessments for just one course: digital systems and data. That seemed the obvious candidate, since students on a digital course are working on computers anyway. After a consultation, the regulator changed its position. On-screen timetabled assessment will now also be permitted for accounting and finance when the qualifications launch. The education V Level remains excluded from on-screen timetabled assessment. However, digital assessment will be allowed for work that is not sat under timed exam conditions across all three subjects. Ofqual says further decisions about on-screen assessment will be taken subject by subject, rather than applied across the board. The decision was made despite concerns raised during the consultation. Respondents warned about whether colleges are ready, about digital inequality between students, and about the potential impact on learners with special educational needs and disabilities. Some warned that on-screen tests risked assessing a student's "digital literacy rather than vocational knowledge and skills".

Why this matters

For families with a teenager choosing a course next year, this is a practical detail that will affect how they are actually examined. On-screen exams are not simply paper exams on a computer. They change how students plan an answer, how they check their work, and how they manage time. Some students do better. Typing is faster than handwriting for many, editing is easier, and for students who struggle with handwriting or spelling it can be a real advantage. Others do worse, at least at first. Reading long passages on screen is harder for some people. Being unable to flick back through pages, annotate in the margin or sketch out a rough plan removes strategies that students have used for years. The concern about digital literacy is the sharpest one. If a student understands accounting well but is slow and uncertain with the software, the exam may end up measuring the wrong thing. That is a fair worry, and Ofqual has not dismissed it. It is why the roll-out is being taken subject by subject rather than all at once. The fairness concerns matter too. Not every student has a computer at home to practise on. Not every college has enough machines to run a full cohort's exams at the same time, or the network reliability to do so without risk. These are solvable problems, but they need money and time, and they land unevenly across the country.

What the evidence actually says

This is a regulatory decision following a public consultation, so what we have is a stated policy and the arguments made on both sides. It is not a research finding. What is settled: on-screen timetabled assessment is permitted for two V Levels, digital systems and data, and accounting and finance. It is not permitted for the education V Level. Non-timetabled digital assessment is permitted across all three. First teaching begins next September. What is not settled is whether this will work well. Nobody has yet run these exams. The concerns raised in the consultation about college readiness, digital inequality and SEND learners have not been answered by evidence; they have been noted, and the regulator has proceeded anyway while promising a subject-by-subject approach. The wider research on computer-based versus paper exams is genuinely mixed. Studies have found differences in performance in both directions depending on the subject, the software, how much practice students had, and the type of question. Reading-heavy assessments tend to show the biggest differences. That mixed picture is one reason regulators tend to move cautiously, and it is a reasonable justification for the subject-by-subject approach rather than a blanket switch. The SEND point deserves particular care. On-screen assessment can help some students with disabilities a great deal, particularly those who use assistive technology, and can disadvantage others. It is not straightforwardly better or worse, which is precisely why the concern is worth monitoring rather than dismissing.

Practical advice

**If your teenager is choosing a course for next September, ask how it will be assessed.** Colleges should be able to tell you whether exams will be on screen, on paper, or a mix. It is a reasonable question at an open evening. **Practise on the real thing, not just any computer.** If an exam will be sat in specific software, getting familiar with that software is worth more than general typing practice. Ask the college whether practice papers or a demonstration version are available. **Do not assume typing speed is the issue.** For most on-screen exams the bigger skills are navigating between questions, knowing how to review answers, and not losing track of time. Those are learnable in a few sessions. **If your child has an EHCP or gets exam access arrangements, raise it early.** Access arrangements such as extra time, a reader or assistive software have to be agreed in advance, and the arrangements for on-screen exams may differ from paper ones. Speak to the college's SENCO or exams officer in the first term, not in the spring. **If home computer access is a problem, say so.** Colleges often have loan schemes, open access computer rooms or study spaces, and many do not advertise them well. Asking costs nothing. **Keep a sense of proportion.** This affects how two qualifications are examined from September next year. It is worth knowing about when choosing a course. It is not a reason to avoid V Levels.

What to know

Ofqual has extended on-screen timetabled assessment to the accounting and finance V Level, having originally proposed it only for digital systems and data. The education V Level stays paper-based for timetabled exams, though digital assessment is allowed for non-timetabled work across all three subjects. The qualifications launch next September, and further subjects will be decided one at a time. Consultation responses raised real concerns about college readiness, unequal access to technology at home, and the effect on learners with SEND, including the risk of testing digital skill rather than vocational knowledge. Ofqual has proceeded while keeping the approach incremental. If you are choosing a course, the useful question at the open evening is simply: how will this be examined, and can we practise on the system beforehand? Sources: FE Week, "Ofqual extends on-screen testing to accountancy V Level", September 2026, https://feweek.co.uk/ofqual-extends-on-screen-testing-to-accountancy-v-level/ ; GOV.UK, "Ofqual confirms new V Level regulations to give students clear route into skilled careers", https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ofqual-confirms-new-v-level-regulations-to-give-students-clear-route-into-skilled-careers ; GOV.UK, "Guidance in relation to the assessment objectives for V Levels in accounting and finance", https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-in-relation-to-the-assessment-objectives-for-v-levels-in-accounting-and-finance This article is for general information and does not replace advice from a doctor, pharmacist or other qualified healthcare professional. For advice on exam access arrangements, speak to your school or college's SENCO or exams officer.

#V Levels#Ofqual#exams#digital assessment#SEND#further education

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