** GCSE grades fall for first time ** There is a fall in the proportion of GCSEs awarded an A*-C grade, for the first time since the exams were introduced 24 years ago. < http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/news/education-19349444 >
It is good that the relentless ‘improvement’ in GCSE results has been slightly curtailed. I can’t help thinking that all the talk of dumbing down has had a major effect on these results.
As the article says, “… head teachers representing dozens of schools say some students have been marked down by an entire grade in English compared with the results that teachers had predicted.”
Perhaps the way things were done this year differs from the last? This system of “comparable outcomes” is a way of representing results that is cause for concern to many in education.
Because Ofqual “…told exam boards they would have to justify any results notably different to those of previous years,” I’m sure they were more concerned than normal about publishing record grades.
The grass roots problems remain unchanged. The exams are too easy and not fit for purpose; the system needs to be overhauled, root and branch.
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