3rd September 2013 9:00
By Blue Tutors
The exams watchdog Ofqual has warned that GCSE grades are falling due to a combination of changes to exams and schools entering students early for exams. Last year the GCSE results fell from 69.8% A*-C in 2011 to 69.4%. Many schools have been making hasty switches to international exams known as IGCSEs in the belief that these exams are easier to prepare for. There has also been a sharp rise in the number of students taking exams early, to give themselves the chance of resitting the year after. In some cases, it has been reported that students are taking the same GCSE twice in the same year, using different exam boards in an attempt to create as many chances as possible to gain the best grades. These trends, plus significant and ill-explained changes to exams, are likely to see GCSE grades continue to fall.
Ofqual has said that although results are worsening, the overall standards of exams have not changed. However, the controversy over tougher marking, particularly in the English GCSE last year, led to many more schools opting for the international GCSE English exam instead, to ensure that the same fiasco is not repeated. In 2012, 18,000 students were entered for the IGCSE English exam, and this year this number has shot up to 78,000 IGCSE English entries. Although the exam was developed for the overseas market, it is now being adopted by many domestic schools who no longer trust the marking of GCSEs.
The National Association of Head Teachers has said that the tactics schools are using to ensure the best results for their students should come as no surprise given the current uncertainty and upheaval in the British exam system. Schools are under immense pressure for their students to achieve the C grade threshold in key subjects which will allow them access to further education, and which are also key in determining schools’ inspection reports. The NAHT said that while the British exam system was so uncertain at a time when there is so much pressure on schools, they will naturally look to international exam options and take steps to ensure that their students achieve the best grades possible. They called the current system “illogical and unsustainable”, and warned that results would continue to fluctuate while the exam system remains incoherent.