Why the GCSE English furore was inevitable

Just over a week ago the results of this year’s GCSE exams were announced. (GCSEs are the main exams taken by nearly all 16-year olds in England and Wales.) Each year since 1988, when the GCSE was first introduced, the percentage of candidates getting grades A* to C has been higher than the year before, rising from 42.5% in 1988 to 69.8% last year. But this year there has been a reduction in the success rate, and the drop has been particularly marked in English. It is estimated that about 65,000 candidates who were expected to get the all-important C grade in English were awarded a D grade. Failing to get a C in English can have serious consequences for a young person because they will probably be unable to progress to the next stage of their education. And a reduction in the proportion of pupils getting a C grade can have serious consequences for a school because this is one of the main performance measures upon which schools are judged. Arguably the stakes are higher for the school management than for the individual pupil. A young person who misses out on a college place may well get a second chance to get their educational progress back on track. A head teacher whose school misses out on the performance measures may well get no second chance – s/he is quite likely to be sacked.

It is little surprise then that this year’s English result have been greeted with shock and anger by pupils, parents and teachers. But the whole situation was entirely predictable, in fact inevitable. I have been waiting for this to happen for a few years. Here’s why:

It all goes back to the so-called ‘grade inflation’ that has been taking place each year since 1988. Some say the relentless increase in the numbers getting higher grades is because standards have dropped; some say it is because young people are working harder each year; others say it is because the quality of teaching has improved. In reality it may be a mix of all three (although like Frank Coffield I think there is a lot more to teaching quality than the ability to get kids to pass exams). Now, as I explained in the first paragraph, the stakes are so high these days when it comes to exam results that if individuals or schools feel they have been unfairly treated then they are bound to want to find somebody to blame (and, if possible, to sue!) But as long as the results kept on improving each year then (a) there were relatively few disappointed individuals and schools (b) any who did feel that they might be the victim of unfair grading did not really have a convincing case, given the perceived improvement in overall exam performance. But of course grade inflation could not go on forever. And it is entirely to be expected that as soon as the brakes were put on grade inflation (i.e. this year) there would be a chorus of outraged pupils, parents and head teachers all crying ‘foul’ at the top of their voices.

When I started this blog (back in 2008) I promised that it would be positive and optimistic. So what is there to be positive and optimistic about in the story of exam grade confusion? I will explain in my next post!

Comments

[Alastair clark]

What does it all mean anyway?

You known, it is a very strange world where we use the same scoring system to measure very different things. Is a GCSE B grade student in Maths as good in Maths as a B grade student in Art is in Art? Could someone convincingly show that a certain set of sums have a genuine equivalence with a certain painting or piece of pottery?

[Terry Loane]

I agree, Alastair, that it is meaningless to suggest that a grade B in one subject is directly comparable to a grade B in a different subject. Yet the UCAS tariff system of A-level 'points' depends on this assumption.

But it gets even worse. Not only is it impossible to compare a grade B in one subject with a grade B in a different subject. As Michael Gove admitted in parliament today, you can't even meaningfully compare a grade C in English obtained in January 2012 with a grade C in the same subject obtained in June 2012!