Last updated: 16 Jan 2009

AS and A levels are regulated against qualification and subject criteria. The criteria published in 2006 govern all specifications taught from September 2008 onwards. The criteria introduced in 2000 cover the specifications examined for the final time in 2009.

The criteria are available from Ofqual’s website (see the link on the right of the page).

About qualification and subject criteria

Qualification criteria give broad rules about the structure of AS and A levels and their assessment and grading.

Subject criteria set out the knowledge, understanding, skills and assessment objectives common to all A and AS specifications in a given subject. They provide the framework within which awarding bodies create the detail of the specification for the AS or A level in that subject.

Subject criteria are intended to:

• help ensure consistent and comparable standards in the same subject across the awarding bodies
• define the relationship between the A and AS specifications, with the AS as a subset of the A level
• ensure that the rigour of A level is maintained
• help higher education institutions and employers know what has been studied and assessed.