UK shared exam system faces break up. Wales/NI students - how much do you know?

He will have plenty of Civil servants in that department who are from an education background. For the record I like him.

Even if he receives good advice, he shouldn't be the one making the final decisions on an area that he has no expertise in. I struggle to see what value he offers in this role.
If you want to have a look at how ministers ignore good scientific/knowledgeable advice from people who have a background in the respective area, look at our ridiculous drug policy.

You have Boris Johnson as your avatar, so honestly I don't really respect your judgement.

Like Mrs. Thatcher said 'Advisers' advise, Ministers decide'.
I don't want you to respect my judgement, nor I have I sought it. I'm just telling you that someone doesn't need to be from an educational background to be Education Secretary. These positions are for solely the Prime Minister to decide upon.

They are, Gove is trying to fix something that isn't even broken, the British Education system is one of the most rigorous and respected systems in the world, and certainly better than the US one. The problem is that the media portray A Levels and GCSE's as easy qualifications that the "arrogant youth can pass with minimal effort". This view is one that is firmly held by the older generations, who cannot understand why results are going up and why so many are going to university, especially when they did not have that chance. So they feel bitter about it. It can't be because the arrogant kids of today are more intelligent then the baby boomers and the result of a well functioning educational system, oh no, it must be because the exams are getting easier.
That is why when Gove appears to be coming down hard on a system that teachers and universities say doesn't need fixing, he is convincing the older generations that he's "toughening up the kids of
today and replacing exams that lazy teenagers do well in with rigorous old fashioned style tests, just like back in the days of condensed milk and when people actually use to buy spam and smash". It is literally being done so that the Tories can secure the vote of the Baby Boomer's generation, and not
because the education system is failing.

Is that why the percentage of people getting A*s is the highest for Maths? This suggests it is an easier subject, actually.

Lets be clear though; the A level qualification is still rigorous and those who get As or A*s deserve it, but something is wrong with GCSEs. The percentage of those coming out of my school now with all As or A*s is an exorbitant number compared to when I was at school.

Wow some ignorant posters above. The AS level examination is far to easy as it is. What he is doing is right. Examine boards in England will have to break away from those of NI and Wales as the English qualifications will be more rigorous.

Level up = good thing.

Put it this way: I had a university exam this morning that was on a whole years content, and about 1000 years of history. A levels don't set students up for that sort of workload.

I found the first year of uni easier than A2...

...says the person doing Zoology at Bangor. Says everything about the academic rigour of lesser unis.

Haven't formed much of an opinion on the actual reforms proposed. But I do agree with him that fracturing the UK education system(s) is a natural occurrence of devolution. If Wales and Northern Ireland don't want to split the education system, they should un-devolve (what's the word for that? ) those powers. As it is, the UK education minister is primarily responsible for the English education system. That's what you get with devolution.

revoke?

No more people get A*s in maths because it's the sort of A level that is usually taken only by people who are really good at the subject or who need it to study STEM related subject at uni. This introduces a statistical bias and hence a positive slant in the results, but you won't understand that because you didn't do maths so I'll put it simply and in a tone which you are more accustomed to:

It is lyk, only taekn bi clevr peepl and peeps who ar realy motivated to do weel in da subject, so not many fail it as dey studi harder den de rest

I myself live in Wales. If this whole reform meant that I obtain a second class qualification compared to someone in England, how is that fair? I didn't choose to sit these exams, I mean how are they going to regulate and ensure equal standards amongst the different exams?

I personally think he's trying to reinvent the wheel, or trying to make a policy by which he'll he remembered by, well, he'll certainly be remembered, for being a douche.

A Levels do their jobs, if he wants to make them more rigorous perhaps he should look into the actual content as opposed to the structure.

Hopefully, people won't be too badly affected.

Haven't formed much of an opinion on the actual reforms proposed. But I do agree with him that fracturing the UK education system(s) is a natural occurrence of devolution. If Wales and Northern Ireland don't want to split the education system, they should un-devolve (what's the word for that? ) those powers. As it is, the UK education minister is primarily responsible for the English education system. That's what you get with devolution.

The thing is that that's not Michael Gove's fault. It's the Education Minister for Wales' fault. Gove would love to have a shared system, in which the GCSE and the GCE were of the same quality and integrity throughout the UK. However, devolution means that local ministers who disagree with Gove's reforms can simply ignore them.

Gove won't stand for a GCSE which is easier for some than it is for others.

What are Gove's changes going to do though, in all honesty? They're not going to improve anything, are they?

We shall see what the future holds.