Major changes to GCSE exams to be unveiled
The government will announce sweeping changes to the GCSE exam system this afternoon.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Education Secretary Michael Gove will unveil the new approach, which is expected to focus on a single end-of-year exam for each subject, instead of the current mixture of modular exams and coursework.
The new exam system will be put in place from 2015, with the first students taking the new tests in 2017.
The changes will only affect English students for now. GCSE exams in Wales and Northern Ireland are not set to change, while Scottish students already take different exams.
What do you think of the mooted changes? Does the GCSE exam system need to be changed and, if so, is this the right approach?
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Education Secretary Michael Gove will unveil the new approach, which is expected to focus on a single end-of-year exam for each subject, instead of the current mixture of modular exams and coursework.
The new exam system will be put in place from 2015, with the first students taking the new tests in 2017.
The changes will only affect English students for now. GCSE exams in Wales and Northern Ireland are not set to change, while Scottish students already take different exams.
What do you think of the mooted changes? Does the GCSE exam system need to be changed and, if so, is this the right approach?
Why does every change bring GCSEs and the like closer to an IGCSE format?
GCSEs have a credibility problem for sure, whether that’s the doing of the media with their 'dumping down' stories every year or not though I'm not sure.
Fact GCSEs only currently serve the purpose of giving a student a license to progress to the next stage, they don’t really stack up as qualifications in their own right. I’d certainly like to see that change OR I’d like to see national formal assessment at the age of 16 abolished and it only hit at 18.
Will be interesting to hear the announcements later today
Fact GCSEs only currently serve the purpose of giving a student a license to progress to the next stage, they don’t really stack up as qualifications in their own right. I’d certainly like to see that change OR I’d like to see national formal assessment at the age of 16 abolished and it only hit at 18.
Will be interesting to hear the announcements later today
Original post by shooks
The government will announce sweeping changes to the GCSE exam system this afternoon.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Education Secretary Michael Gove will unveil the new approach, which is expected to focus on a single end-of-year exam for each subject, instead of the current mixture of modular exams and coursework.
The new exam system will be put in place from 2015, with the first students taking the new tests in 2017.
The changes will only affect English students for now. GCSE exams in Wales and Northern Ireland are not set to change, while Scottish students already take different exams.
What do you think of the mooted changes? Does the GCSE exam system need to be changed and, if so, is this the right approach?
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Education Secretary Michael Gove will unveil the new approach, which is expected to focus on a single end-of-year exam for each subject, instead of the current mixture of modular exams and coursework.
The new exam system will be put in place from 2015, with the first students taking the new tests in 2017.
The changes will only affect English students for now. GCSE exams in Wales and Northern Ireland are not set to change, while Scottish students already take different exams.
What do you think of the mooted changes? Does the GCSE exam system need to be changed and, if so, is this the right approach?
I think that GCSEs need to be changed, but this doesn't mean make harder exams. I think coursework should be scrapped, but modular exams for all subjects apart from maths should be kept.
The GCSE curriculum needs to be more interesting and fun. A quick example is, that if you think you are interested in Physics, look through AQA P1 GCSE (New Spec) and you will quickly find out how boring it is.
As well as this, the fundamental educational framework that qualifications lie in needs to be changed. Exams should be taken when pupils are ready for them, not at fixed rigid dates. This should be anytime in the ages of 10-18. If students are not interested in History for example, but very interested in Maths at KS3, they should be allowed to drop history and take more advanced maths. This leads to more specialised classes, less bad behaviour and a better use of teachers time. Also languages should be taught from around the age of 6 so all students will be bilingual by the time they are 16.
Michael Gove is an old-school Tory with no idea what he is talking about. Harder exams =/= better education. It just creates a huge burden of pressure on the students, who will feel that their life is decided by a couple of 3 hour exams taken in the space of a few weeks.
(edited 11 years ago)
GCSE are mainly fine the way they are. It's right to make it so that there is just one exam board, as that makes it fairer on everyone as then you don't get exams where it's easier to get an higher grade than on an exam on the same subject by a different exam board, however there is enough of a divide between people who do the higher paper and those who do the foundation papers as it is without introducing different papers for clever students. Also, the main reason that the GCSE results have increased each year (with the exception of this year) has probably got something to do with the fact that there are far more revision resources availiable as each year there are more and more past papers to do and the teachers get more and more used to the syllabus and the types of questions which are likely to come up.
I agree that GCSEs amount to nothing these days and aren't really worth half the peoples time anymore. They are basically seen as a stepping stone from GCSE > A Level/Apprenticeship, then A Level > University (90% of the time)
However the media smear campaign don't understand at all that GCSEs are probably one of the best systems in place. I was talking to a few teachers about this subject, with O Levels you basically had to remember nearly everything and as long as you remembered everything, you could pass the exam. GCSEs actually require you to understand the material and not know just "know it" to answer the questions and get the top marks. The reason we're getting so many A/A*'s is primarily because children are grasping the concept and are learning to understand.
I agree that some changes need to be made, but a 3 hour exam at the end of the year? What does that change? More pressure on the students. The students who don't care about school and don't want to be involved are going to be more prone to not giving a damn because the exams will be seen as "so far away" and will disrupt the education of those who want to learn. The removal of coursework I'm not sure about.. yes it was pretty easy to cheat, but I still think it was important for some subjects. It was a chance to learn for yourself and work independently and creatively, exams don't exactly give that impression.
However the media smear campaign don't understand at all that GCSEs are probably one of the best systems in place. I was talking to a few teachers about this subject, with O Levels you basically had to remember nearly everything and as long as you remembered everything, you could pass the exam. GCSEs actually require you to understand the material and not know just "know it" to answer the questions and get the top marks. The reason we're getting so many A/A*'s is primarily because children are grasping the concept and are learning to understand.
I agree that some changes need to be made, but a 3 hour exam at the end of the year? What does that change? More pressure on the students. The students who don't care about school and don't want to be involved are going to be more prone to not giving a damn because the exams will be seen as "so far away" and will disrupt the education of those who want to learn. The removal of coursework I'm not sure about.. yes it was pretty easy to cheat, but I still think it was important for some subjects. It was a chance to learn for yourself and work independently and creatively, exams don't exactly give that impression.
Original post by ThatPerson
I think that GCSEs need to be changed, but this doesn't mean make harder exams. I think coursework should be scrapped, but modular exams for all subjects apart from maths should be kept.
The GCSE curriculum needs to be more interesting and fun. A quick example is, that if you think you are interested in Physics, look through AQA P1 GCSE (New Spec) and you will quickly find out how boring it is.
As well as this, the fundamental educational framework that qualifications lie in needs to be changed. Exams should be taken when pupils are ready for them, not at fixed rigid dates. This should be anytime in the ages of 10-18. If students are not interested in History for example, but very interested in Maths at KS3, they should be allowed to drop history and take more advanced maths. This leads to more specialised classes, less bad behaviour and a better use of teachers time. Also languages should be taught from around the age of 6 so all students will be bilingual by the time they are 16.
Michael Gove is an old-school Tory with no idea what he is talking about. Harder exams =/= better education. It just creates a huge burden of pressure on the students, who will feel that their life is decided by a couple of 3 hour exams taken in the space of a few weeks.
The GCSE curriculum needs to be more interesting and fun. A quick example is, that if you think you are interested in Physics, look through AQA P1 GCSE (New Spec) and you will quickly find out how boring it is.
As well as this, the fundamental educational framework that qualifications lie in needs to be changed. Exams should be taken when pupils are ready for them, not at fixed rigid dates. This should be anytime in the ages of 10-18. If students are not interested in History for example, but very interested in Maths at KS3, they should be allowed to drop history and take more advanced maths. This leads to more specialised classes, less bad behaviour and a better use of teachers time. Also languages should be taught from around the age of 6 so all students will be bilingual by the time they are 16.
Michael Gove is an old-school Tory with no idea what he is talking about. Harder exams =/= better education. It just creates a huge burden of pressure on the students, who will feel that their life is decided by a couple of 3 hour exams taken in the space of a few weeks.
When you said the bit in bold you hit the nail on the head.
Original post by ThatPerson
I think that GCSEs need to be changed, but this doesn't mean make harder exams. I think coursework should be scrapped, but modular exams for all subjects apart from maths should be kept.
The GCSE curriculum needs to be more interesting and fun. A quick example is, that if you think you are interested in Physics, look through AQA P1 GCSE (New Spec) and you will quickly find out how boring it is.
As well as this, the fundamental educational framework that qualifications lie in needs to be changed. Exams should be taken when pupils are ready for them, not at fixed rigid dates. This should be anytime in the ages of 10-18. If students are not interested in History for example, but very interested in Maths at KS3, they should be allowed to drop history and take more advanced maths. This leads to more specialised classes, less bad behaviour and a better use of teachers time. Also languages should be taught from around the age of 6 so all students will be bilingual by the time they are 16.
Michael Gove is an old-school Tory with no idea what he is talking about. Harder exams =/= better education. It just creates a huge burden of pressure on the students, who will feel that their life is decided by a couple of 3 hour exams taken in the space of a few weeks.
The GCSE curriculum needs to be more interesting and fun. A quick example is, that if you think you are interested in Physics, look through AQA P1 GCSE (New Spec) and you will quickly find out how boring it is.
As well as this, the fundamental educational framework that qualifications lie in needs to be changed. Exams should be taken when pupils are ready for them, not at fixed rigid dates. This should be anytime in the ages of 10-18. If students are not interested in History for example, but very interested in Maths at KS3, they should be allowed to drop history and take more advanced maths. This leads to more specialised classes, less bad behaviour and a better use of teachers time. Also languages should be taught from around the age of 6 so all students will be bilingual by the time they are 16.
Michael Gove is an old-school Tory with no idea what he is talking about. Harder exams =/= better education. It just creates a huge burden of pressure on the students, who will feel that their life is decided by a couple of 3 hour exams taken in the space of a few weeks.
I agree with you except for the dropping lessons thing. I know people that have switched from wanting too be a lawyer and hating Geography too wanting too be a geologist and hating the humanities, then back again. Kids change their minds so much that dropping subjects at a young age isn't the best idea.
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I did IGCSEs and feel this is a good change as at my college, there are people who are in my Further Maths class who barely understand anything that's being taught aand they did GCSEs. It's time for this country to seperate the wheat from the chaff by abolishing the modulur exams and coursework etc.
Original post by ThatPerson
I think that GCSEs need to be changed, but this doesn't mean make harder exams.
Agreed
Michael Gove is an old-school Tory with no idea what he is talking about. Harder exams =/= better education. It just creates a huge burden of pressure on the students, who will feel that their life is decided by a couple of 3 hour exams taken in the space of a few weeks.
Less total time spent on assessment seems like a win-win. The current situation sounds like a near-constant slog of assessed coursework and exams.
Students might have more time to learn stuff and spend less time being assessed on that stuff.
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