The present model of qualifications assessment whereby schools and colleges choose which qualifications their pupils take from a range of providers, is preferable to a franchising model, which in turn is preferable to a single government exam board.

This is the conclusion from a report from the Centre for the Study of Market Reform of Education (CMRE) which specifically looked at how qualifications should be assessed.

According to the report:

• the current regulatory framework does not allow for downward competition on standards, which has historically been the principal case against it
• choice and competition can improve quality in the system
• the current system considerably decreases the risk of system failure unlike the franchising model that concentrates the supply of qualifications and assessment in each subject
• the market’s current workings, let alone its potential, do not warrant a radical solution.