‘Back to basics’ GCSE exam reforms

A blast from the past or hope for a fairer future?

by Kate Newton.

Conservative MP Graham Stuart, Chairman of the Education Committee, said that, ‘The turmoil surrounding last Summer’s GCSE English results highlights the importance of carefully developing new sets of exams’, on Tuesday 11th June 2013, when the Committee’s findings were published after an investigation prompted by the controversy over last year’s GCSE English exam grades confusion.

But will the changes, based on the way exams were structured over 30 years ago restore pupils’, parents’ and teachers’ confidence in the way children are tested at GCSE level when they are introduced in two years time?

Firmly blaming 2012′s results chaos on the original design of the GCSE English exam, implemented by the previous Labour government, Graham Stuart went on to say, ‘A series of avoidable errors were made when the current GCSE English was being designed. Failures in the modular approach and in the moderation of internal assessments led to a highly unsatisfactory level of confusion’

The Conservative/Liberal Democrat Coalition Education Secretary Michael Gove’s sweeping changes to the GCSE exam system promise to have far-reaching effects on how pupils are tested on their knowledge in future. According to comments made in the media by Coalition MPs, the newly designed examinations will be more fulfilling, will stretch students further and will be fairer for everyone.

A new grading system will be introduced - marks will be calculated then graded from 8 -1, instead of the A* - G ratings used at the moment. However, Stephen Twigg, the Labour Party’s Shadow Education Secretary commented that the reforms represented ‘a Grade A lesson in bad policy making’ and former Labour Education Secretary, David Blunkett, added that although the Government’s reforms will benefit pupils by removing past mistakes, he thought that the changes were just too drastic.

Coming hot on the heels of Michael Gove’s reforms, Mr. Stuart emphasised the fact that it would be vital for him and his fellow MPs, along with the independent regulator, Ofqual, to pay close attention to well-documented advice and warnings from educational specialists. The Committee’s report states that schools and teachers are under huge amounts of pressure to deliver results and that pupils should not be sold short by having to sit poorly designed examinations.

The Government’s wholesale changes to GCSEs and A Levels will come into effect in 2015 and the new exam format will need to be fit for purpose and beyond criticism in order to avoid an embarrassing repetition of last year’s problem. Ofqual is accountable to Parliament and needs to guarantee that it will be able to anticipate any problems which may occur, as well as being able to step in if it believes it needs to.

The current Government says it aims above all to rebuild the public’s trust in the examination system, to put pupils’ interests first and to deliver examinations which attain the high academic standards achieved elsewhere around the world.

But will the newly designed exams deliver the results the Government so confidently claims they will?…

Watch this space!…