Education Secretary Michael Gove has unveiled the new-look GCSEs for schools in England, with exams now graded from 8 to 1 rather than A* to G.
Mr Gove is phasing out coursework and continuous assessment in 2015, with pupils then facing only exams at the end of two years. He also claims that pupils will be taught more rigorous content such as having to read a whole Shakespeare play for the English exams.
The head of Ofqual, Glenys Stacey, said: “We want to see qualifications that are more stretching for the most able students, using assessments that really test knowledge, understanding and skills.”
Mary Bousted, leader of the ATL teachers’ union has called the constant changes to the government’s education policy was turning pupils into “Mr Gove’s guinea pigs”.
Labour’s shadow education minister Stephen Twigg said:
Pupils and parents will be concerned by the uncertainty that Michael Gove has created around GCSEs. Having first talked down their value and then failed in his attempt to scrap them, the Education Secretary is having another go at setting out his plans…He keeps failing because he hasn’t got a thought through plan to improve exams.
Key Changes from 2015
- Changes initially only for nine core GCSE subjects: English language, English literature, maths, physics, chemistry, biology, combined science, history and geography.
- Grading from 8-1 rather than A*-G
- No more coursework or “continuous assessment”, with only an exam at the end of two years
