QCA ABOLITION

Ed Balls's decision to abolish the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority spells the end for a watchdog that has proved more controversial than ministers could ever have expected.The QCA was at the heart of the 2002 A-level grading fiasco, which saw thousands of sixth-formers given the wrong marks and culminated in its chairman being sacked.

And the head of the National Assessment Agency, a separate wing of the QCA, quit after a string of errors hit school "Sats" tests in English three years ago.

Earlier this summer, the QCA was plunged into fresh controversy over its new secondary school curriculum.

Winston Churchill was conspicuously absent from the list of figures recommended for study in history lessons while anti-slavery campaigners remained in place.

Such controversies have led the critics of the QCA - who have included the Conservatives - to claim that it is too vulnerable to "trendy" political influence.

But senior QCA figures have not been afraid to clash with ministers, occasionally in spectacular fashion.Relations hit their lowest point during the grading row of 2002.

Sir William Stubbs, QCA chairman at the time, publicly accused Estelle Morris, the then Education Secretary, of improperly interfering in the official inquiry into the debacle.

She then sacked him two days later.

The Government later paid Sir William £95,000 in a settlement over lost earnings and praised his "enormous" contribution and "distinguished" service to education.

The row centred on the new system of grading in 2002, in which A-levels were split into first year "AS" and second year "A2" exams.

The result of splitting the A-levels in half appeared to be a massive rise in the pass rate.

But to avoid accusations of "dumbing down", grades were adjusted so there was not such a large "improvement" in results.

Nearly 2,000 sixth-formers had to be upgraded after being given grades that were lower than they deserved.The fiasco undermined confidence in the exams system which took years to recover - some would say it never has.

Mr Balls said he wanted to end the ritual accusations that exams have been "dumbed down". He told the Daily Telegraph that the reason for abolishing the watchdog was because there is a conflict of interest at the heart of its work.

At the moment, the QCA develops the National Curriculum, sets exam criteria and approves GCSE and A-level courses put forward by the exam boards.

But as the official regulator, the QCA also has the role of safeguarding standards, making sure that the exams resulting from its own work are not getting easier.