GCSE reform take 2 (or is it 3?)

[WynkenBlynkenandNod]

So this is the plan of the week for GCSE's, any thoughts?

I don't really understand why they are messing around with the GCSE's if the plan was to scrap them. DD is year 9 so doing linear GCSE'S I think but no longer feel clear on anything, most people I know feel the same after the number of changes that have been made the last few years.

[Wuldric]

I do wholeheartedly believe that GCSEs need reform, but I am worried about the pace of the changes, ie that they are not thought through or carefully pilot-tested. I am also worried that we will end up with a proliferation of different systems. Scotland already runs a different system, and now we have the prospect of Wales and NI continuing on the old route, so we will have three different systems in the UK. It is nonsensical.

[muminlondon]

The grading system will confuse people (esp. employers) no end - 8 is the top?!?! Never seen anything like that before. It just won't be worth putting on your CV at all if you have anything higher. How does '4' sound? Is it a pass?

[MadeOfStarDust]

mine are in Y7 and Y6 - guinea pigs...... with nothing to measure against..... hey ho - must move to Scotland!! What will Mr Salmond's immigration policy be.....

[crazymum53]

These new proposals don't mention that many reforms have already taken place e.g. modular syllabuses for Science and Maths have now been replaced by linear ones and resits reduced.
Coursework has already been reformed too and replaced by ISAs so conditions are more controlled.
The proposed grading system with 8 the highest grade is consistent with the IB where grade 7 is the highest. But many employers may remember the old CSEs where grade 1 was highest, so this may cause some confusion.

[Erebus]

Meanwhile, the children of the proposers and enforcers of this Brave New World will continue to sit (and, ensconced in small, selective, disciplined, controlled, carefully monitored and assisted private classes, pass) iGCSEs, exams which the whole world, the universities, the providers of quality training schemes and so forth will recognise, and will remain confident that an 'A' is a good pass.

Our DC will end up with a mismash of GCSEs in the 'non-core' subjects (would that be older modular GCSEs, or new-style linear ones, young person?) and 1 to 8s (what is a pass, then?) in something new, unpiloted, untested, un-anything'ed.

What will this do to the prospects of current Y8s who not only have just GCSEs but have had to pass linear GCSEs when their Y11 siblings had the benefit of modular ones? How, seriously, can one set of DC be meaningfully measured against another, especially 3 or 4 years down the track? And what if some GCSEs were sat 'over the border' in Wales?

(For the record, only this week, at work, where we all hold the same level of qualification relevant to the profession through its changes over the years) we were talking about O levels and GCSEs. Needless to say, the post 1985/6 people had more GCSEs at higher grades that we oldies had O levels, but the confidence with which they genuinely believe it's proof they're cleverer/better educated than us, it's like 'a given', 'O' level = GCSE- so let's not for a second go imagining that our Y8s will be measured fairly against our Y11s, 10 years hence. They'll just be 'How many GCSEs do you have?'. As for our Y7s- it'll be 'Oh, you've got some of those whacky, ill-conceived, meaningless 1-8 graded nonsenses that were in vogue for a couple of years, have you? Hmm').

FFS, Gove, demonstrate some academic rigour yourself and get a grip, you stupid man.

[WynkenBlynkenandNod]

Apologies, I posted this just after one had gone up in Chat, there's more discussion on that one.

I also agree change is needed but am very concerned how it is being implemented .

[Erebus]

Actually, sometimes I think a couple of different threads in different areas on a given topic are useful as they can go in diverse directions!