The new GCSE grading system has dominated recent education coverage. EEF chief executive Sir Kevan Collins has an article just published by Prospect magazine looking at the reforms, ‘Are we losing sight of the true purpose of exams?’.
His concern focuses on the one-third of students who don’t achieve pass grades, disproportionately drawn from disadvantaged homes, and who are now required to stay in compulsory education for a further two years. These qualifications, he argues, are young people’s passport to success in later life. It’s clear, therefore, we need to generate more and better evidence of teaching and learning strategies that work for these students and support schools and colleges to put them to use. The EEF is funding three trials, in partnership with J.P. Morgan, which will make a valuable start.
You can read Kevan’s article in full here.