Education secretary Michael Gove’s decision to desert plans to exchange GCSEs in key subjects in England with the English Baccalaureate Certificates (EBCs) appears like history repeating itself. This debate, and the entrenched position taken by such a lot of of my very own profession, mirrors the plethora of ‘blocking’ strategies that have been placed in front of Sir Mike Tomlinson, a former chief inspector of colleges, when he tried to radically reform A-levels in 2002.
The fact remains that GCSEs want a deep-rooted overhaul if the education sector and the teaching profession are to ensure that the scholars in our care meet their full potential.
Without rigorous, stimulating and stretching examination and assessment frameworks, we run the chance of youngsters not being furnished with the talents set essential to pursue a delightful career, or the certainty so one can make a meaningful contribution to the nation’s economic development and prosperity.
GCSEs are a curate’s egg of mixed practice.
At their best, akin to with the present GCSE English literature and GCSE history specifications, they effectively challenge children and kids. The GCSE engineering and newly developed GCSE computing courses enable students to cultivate skills for both employment and life. Additionally, GCSEs have a longtime track record and reputation in accordance with greater than 25 years development.
However, at their worst, GCSEs are a countrywide disgrace.
All of the GCSE sciences are under-challenging and do nothing to completely prepare adolescents for A-level and undergraduate sciences. GCSE mathematics is in a similar way simply not robust enough should you want to take the study of mathematics further.
To counter this, at Nunthorpe we now offer our upper ability students the choice of studying the international GCSE in mathematics. This more taxing and hard examination and course has traditionally been a route offered only within the independent schools/some grammar schools sector. However, that picture is changing as more meaningful GCSE qualifications are sought within the more ambitious parts of the all ability state sector.
Too a few of the GCSE qualifications on offer within the ‘examinations market’ don’t adequately stretch young people’s intellect.
This is reflected within the much observed lowly position of england within the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Within the PISA 2011 report, England sadly came 25th in reading and 28th in maths.
As an all-ability state academy, Nunthorpe has no qualms about offering curriculum and qualifications which might be properly fit for purpose and which properly stretch and challenge all of our students in any respect ability levels. The EBC was a good chance to start to correctly differentiate between people who were truly on the upper ability end and those that were stretched sufficiently by the more traditional GCSE and /or BTEC qualifications diet.
Michael Gove said plans for the recent exams have been “a bridge too far”. However, failing to realise the risk to lay an examination structure in place that might do future generations justice is a lost opportunity.
The ridiculous national obsession with ‘equality’ and ‘inclusion’ in any respect costs means adolescents pays the final word price of not being given the standard education that they not just need but deserve. Here, we had a secretary of state who was brave enough to challenge many of the sacred cows of our education sector.
Unfortunately, I fear that because Mr Gove was impeded in his ambitions to substantially reform the examination system, the nation will continue to pay a heavy price as we remain rapidly overtaken by our international education rivals.
Debbie Clinton is principal of Nunthorpe Academy, Middlesbrough.
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