In June 2017, year 11 students will be the first cohort to complete the new GCSEs in English and mathematics.
This is the first time in my teaching career that the nature of the grades awarded will change. The grading system will move from A* to G to the new scale of 9 to 1. This change is presenting many new challenges.
Challenge 1 – teachers are unable to confidently grade work
Year 11 students are less than two terms away from completing their exams in English and maths. It is fair to say that the guidance from the exam boards around grading has been limited. The exam boards have said that they will only be in a position to award grades once they have all the papers marked. The exam boards are expected to ensure that the same percentage of students that achieved a grade C+ last year will achieve a grade 4+ this academic year.
The GCSE exams are high stakes exams for students and schools. This is creating a great deal of uncertainity for teachers, students and parents.
Challenge 2 – loss of coursework
The reformed GCSEs contain either less or no coursework component. This means that students will be awarded grades based either heavily or entirely on their performance in an end of course exam. Research has shown that this style of assessment can favour boys more so that girls. It will be interesting to see the affects.
Every year there are a number of students that for a variety of genuine reasons are not able to complete their exams. This can be due to serious on going medical conditions or unfortunate accidents. If students are unable to complete a certain number of exams for a subject, so that they have completed a specified amount of the course, then the students cannot be award a grade. The completion of coursework has supported students in this situation in previous years. How will these students be dealt with in future years?
Challenge 3 – transition to college
Colleges seem to be setting entry requirements at a grade 4 or above for the new GCSE English and maths. Interestingly the DfE have stated that a grade 5 is a good pass at GCSE. This potentially creates a gap which may affect students later in their career. In theory a student could embark on their A level studies and maybe even complete a degree with a grade 4 in English and maths. Depending on a student’s career choice they could be asked at a later date if they have passed their English and maths qualifications. How will students be supported in this situation?
Overall
The challenges that schools and students are facing as they complete these new GCSEs are creating greater levels of stress and anxiety. The all or nothing ethos of exam only asssesments is going to be a real challenge mentally for students. As teachers we need to prepare students for this so that they have the right mindset to cope.
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