Alexandra Frean
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Pupils will be able to retake GCSE modules to improve their grades under an overhaul of the qualification that will also end coursework in most subjects.
Up to 60 per cent of GCSEs will be completed before the end of the courses through module examinations or “controlled assessments”. The reforms bring GCSEs closer in format to A levels, which have been modular since 2000.
The controlled assessments will be supervised under strict conditions at school. Although pupils will still be able to consult the internet and other source material, teachers will be on hand to ensure that work is suitably referenced and not simply copied.
The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), which published the new GCSE criteria, said that officials expected modular or “unitised” exams to be available in all main subjects. Pupils would be allowed to resit an exam unit if they were unhappy with their marks.
It is now up to the exam boards to draw up detailed courses. The new rules apply to 28 GCSE subjects, including history, geography, classics, law, engineering and languages. Maths and English will be reviewed next year.
Critics had said that GCSEs could become “fragmented” if pupils were allowed to take exams in small bites.
In a consultation on the reforms, a third of respondents expressed concerns over modularisation. More than 70 per cent said “at least 50 per cent of all assessment should be at the end of the course”.
Critics have claimed that the decision to divide A levels into modules – with the option of repeated resits - made the exams easier to pass.
Alan Smithers, Professor of Education at the University of Buckingham, said: “The possible advantage is that young people can be motivated by clocking up credit as they go along. But the big disadvantage is that modular exams turn the subjects into bite-sized bits, rather than a rounded idea.”
The QCA said that exam standards would be maintained under the new system.
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Sounds like anther down grade - more stealth changes to give the impression that standards are going up.
All done with mirrors you know!
M. Cawdery, Portadown, Co. UK, EU.
Is it not a contradiction that the government was worried about the number of students copying their GCSE coursework from the internet beforehand, yet the new GCSE overhaul will be up to 60% coursework
BG, London,
GCSEs are not as difficult as A levels and neither as academically demanding. They scarcely need to be fractionated and it is perfectly manageable to learn all the material needed for the exams at the end of the year.
I would not have welcomed a multitude of exams above the 17 or so that I had to take during my GCSEs' summer.
This is another attempt to improve the grades of a huge pool of failing students, many of whom will not appreaciate the efforts. The weak link in their education is the belief that it is fine to settle with any grade. Comprehensives' teachers will tell you that there is a lack in student motivation, not ability in many cases where a C was not achieved.
LG, London,
I am in the final year doing maths coursework, which has to be supervised. It is awful to try and do it in school. We all write it at home, and copy it up in the supervised time. These supervised coursework sessions will not work, and would not be necessary if it were not for the growing numbers of websites which sell coursework. The problem will be the time it takes to do this, and teaching time for the rest of the specification will be lost. Teachers already struggle to finish it in time to revise some areas, but that may be because of the depth we go into at my school.
Some coursework is necessary as it is a good way to accumulate points, especially if you struggle in exams. For example I have got full marks in my Geography and Economics coursework, thus I am under less pressure in June when I sit the exam papers.
Chloe, Nottingham,
As a fifteen year old student sitting my GCSEs this year, I find the idea of having to do my coursework whilst being supervised rather daunting. I work better on my own without distractions and most of my classmates are the same. I would rather have one longer exam at the end of the course than modules, though I'm not particularly sure why.
Ems, L/Derry,
The proposal is to give children far too many exams - one per module per subject. In addition many will be coursework exams, with internet access and books allowed, which means long examinations, maybe stretching several days.
This will be highly stressful, and largely it will be an unproductive sort of stress, with the focus on presentation and carrying out instructions rather than content. It will also mean than non-examined work gets almost no priority.
Finally the retakes in such a system will be unrealistic. How will already weak pupils cope with taking two modules at a time?
The easiest, fairest way to assess is with an unseen paper and pencil test, with the format of the paper also unseen to prevent coaching. These attempts to use the assessment system to direct the teacher's work should be abandoned.
Malcolm McLean, Bradford, UK