GCSE exams to be replaced by 'English Bac Certificate'

[Brennan]

The GCSE exam in England is going to be replaced by a qualification called the English Baccalaureate Certificate.

A shake-up of the exam system, unveiled by Education Secretary Michael Gove, will mean a single end-of-course exam and one exam board for each subject.

Pupils beginning secondary school this year will take the first new exams - in English, maths and sciences - in 2017.

Mr Gove told MPs that GCSEs had been designed "for a different age and a different world".

I'm shocked at how out of touch Gove really is. One exam to judge the scope of everything learned over an entire two year course ? Absolute lunacy.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-19626663

 

[Groucho]

It'll never work.

 

[Brennan]

It'll never work.

For the record i think coursework as it stands is a poor measure of ability, but one exam like this will just make difficult kids care even less. Why pay attention in Year 10 when your exam isn't until the end of Year 11 ?

 

[RFUS]

What a fine idea, placing an even greater emphasis on the short term retention of information.

Rather than, you know, ingenuity, problem solving, actual skills...

The second I finished my GCSEs I forgot almost everything I ever learned. You're trained to do exams and left with more certificates than functional skills.

 

[CahillsCornerFlag]

Truly mental. The exam format is flawed in the sense that those who have the best short term memories and can regurgitate knowledge easily will get A's whilst those who need something to really get stuck into (like myself) in form of coursework, will be punished.

 

[Brennan]

He really is an odious little p***k. Should be stuck in a pencil pushing middle management job, not running the country's education system.

 

[Groucho]

My mum's a secondary teacher. I don't think she's impressed.

 

[Brennan]

My mum's a secondary teacher. I don't think she's impressed.

I feel sorry for the teachers who now have to try and motivate kids for an entire two years when they know that there's only one exam to sit. The first year of that level of education is basically a write off now.

 

[Groucho]

I feel sorry for the teachers who now have to try and motivate kids for an entire two years when they know that there's only one exam to sit. The first year of that level of education is basically a write off now.

What background in education does Gove have? That would be my first question. What qualifies him to make such drastic changes?

 

[- Bradders -]

On a personal level, I would have loved it back when I was at school. Cramming the night before an exam was what I did best. Coursework was a lot more difficult because of the time and effort required and my short attention span but I probably retain that info better because of that.

Shame that the curriculum will be even more geared towards passing an exam well rather than actually teaching kids properly.

 

[neil999]

quite right too, lets also bring back the cane...teach these oiks a thing or too, children should also be working in the mines again, the lazy little sh1ts

 

[ToffeeBlueNose]

exams are not a reflection of peoples ability, our system has never worked.

The problem I have and Maybe i'm wrong but, the fact kids have access to every bit of information on hand via the net is dumbing them down.

 

[RFUS]

exams are not a reflection of peoples ability, our system has never worked.

The problem I have and Maybe i'm wrong but, the fact kids have access to every bit of information on hand via the net is dumbing them down.

I don't agree with that. The greatest pool of knowledge in humanity's history has always helped rather than hindered me, anyway. But then I've always been inquisitive. If you're talking about the fact that kids don't have to do very thorough research then I suppose that's agreeable. But you'll have to elaborate there.

 

[tommye]

the money being spent on this would be put to better use creating jobs for those who leave school after their exams. Pointless having all these qualifications, whatever they're called, without there being gainful employment to be had. Fookin clueless politicians again. Bellends.

 

[chrissyjack]

That's the way we used to do it. Yrs 4 and 5 in high school were heading towards an exam at the end. We had a mock exam to see if we were to be entered into an O'Level or CSE exam. Coursework wasn't included. I can't remember exactly when it was changed, but why not just leave it well alone. It seems to work