The body that regulates examinations is to be made independent in a radical
attempt to end the annual row about the dumbing down of school standards, The
Times has learnt.
Ed Balls, the Schools Secretary, will tell the Labour conference today that
the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) will be given freedom from
ministerial interference in a move to give parents, pupils, universities and
employers confidence that exam standards are being maintained.
At the same time he will announce fresh moves to improve the teaching of the
3Rs, with a drive to help children with their spelling and handwriting
skills.
The decision by Mr Balls to make the QCA independent is an attempt to echo
Labour’s decision to make the Bank of England independent in 1997, a move
that he had strongly recommended as Gordon Brown’s chief economic adviser.
He will tell Labour delegates that he wants GCSE and A-level students to be
able to take pride in their A-grades without facing the continual carping by
critics that their results are a devalued currency. The move would enable
the QCA independently to monitor school standards, free from political
interference, and would distance the government of the day from criticisms
of involvement.
Although the QCA theoretically is independent from government at present,
officials of the Department for Children, Schools and Families sit in on its
board meetings to ensure that the department’s view is put forward.
Sir Anthony Greener, the QCA chair, currently reports regularly to ministers,
who in the past have quashed QCA initiatives.
The move is likely to be widely welcomed in the education sector, especially
by teaching unions and examination boards, which have fiercely defended
school standards in the face of criticism from employers and universities.
The independence of the Bank was widely seen as one of Mr Brown’s most
effective political moves. It was intended to show that the Bank of England
could make interest-rate decisions untainted by political influence.
Although the Government still sets targets on inflation, the Bank choses how
these are to be achieved.
Mr Balls will also announce a new programme to help primary school children to
improve their spelling and writing skills.
He will say that the current “every child a reader” and “everychild
counts” are to be extended nationwide, meaning that 30,000 children will
receive special help with their reading and arithmetic by the end of three
years.
The extension will cost £144 million and Mr Balls will say that the scheme
should now be extended to the third of the 3Rs — writing. New support is to
be provided to ensure that every teacher uses the best methods, including
one-to-one coaching, in areas of writing and spelling that primary school
children find hardest to master.
Making the QCA independent would enable the Government to distance itself
from the growing pressure for reform of the examination system.
Every year a record haul of A grades at A level prompts complaints from
leading universities and employers that they are increasingly unable to
distinguish the brightest candidates. This year, one in ten candidates
achieved three A grades.
The pass rate for A levels has risen for 25 years in succession, with nearly
three in ten candidates achieving three A grades this year and A-grades
accounting for more than a quarter of all A-level marks.
To counter accusations that the A level no longer represents a gold standard,
the Government has agreed to introduce an A* grade for the 2010 exams, which
will be awarded to students who achieve 90 per cent plus.
This summer Mike Cresswell, the director-general of AQA, England's biggest
exam board, conceded that a new A** could eventually be required as grade
inflation continues and more pupils get the new top A* grade.
A similar pattern exists for GCSE results. The proportion of students gaining
five A* to C grades in any subject rose from 45.1 to 63 per cent between
1997 and 2006.
Alan Smithers, of the University of Buckingham, said that the QCA’s
independence would be very welcome. “An independent QCA would have far more
credibility in establishing what is happening in education, not least
because it would be detached and would exist at one remove from government
targets,” he said.
One way in which the QCA could monitor standards would be to test a random
sample, say 3 per cent of children in England, every year. The pupils would
all be given the same test on the same day and would not be told the purpose
of the tests. Question papers would be locked away until the next year, when
the same paper would be taken by a different 3 per cent in different
schools. “That would enable you to see if standards were being maintained on
an annual basis,” Professor Smithers said.
Ken Boston, chief executive of the QCA, suggested this year that such a
sample method, which is currently in use in Australia, would even be used to
replace the national Key Stage tests sat by every children in England at
ages 7, 11 and 14. But that was con-sidered a reform too far by the Government.
Andrew Williams, no they are far too afraid of having a real debate about exam standards to do this, and would rather hide behind telling us not to undermine "the hard work of teachers and students".
The real problem comes when the new "independent" authority clashes with the teachers because the exam results don't continue to get better every year. What chance is there of getting back to the standards of 20 years ago, when straight A achievers were exceptional ? None at all.
Tim , Guildford, UK
The reason that educational standards have declined is that, otherwise, politicians would have to face the twin facts that:-
1. The postmodern liberalism by which they live has NOT made us all better and better in every way, and
2. Even worse, it never shall: the extremely well-proven but officially shunned racial differences in IQ are all too real.
They are building Nu Britain on educational foundations of sand. Unless the QCA is also independent from that, its independence from government will be of very limited value.
Guessedworker, Lewes, England
there is an easy solution. you mark everyone against a curve. the top 10% get an A, the 2nd 10% get a B, and so on.
this does raise the issue of differing ability year-on-year but it would at least give universities an idea as to students academic standard
lets not forget, the point of exams is to demonstrate a persons academic ability
simon mawdsley, london,
Authorities have been manipulating pass marks forever.
The public makes the incorrect assumption that 50% is a pass mark.
What actually happens is that some group decides what the pass mark shall be and that determines how many students pass the subject.
One reason for this is that it controls whether an exam was set too easy or too hard. But it's also a political weapon so that it can be made to appear that students are "getting better" over a period of time due sa to Govt. policy.
richard, bangkok,
About time. The dumbing down of society is reflected by peoples belief that they don't have to take responsibility for themselves or their actions They seem to think the Government is completely responsible for their mistakes and that every possible risk in life should be legislated against..... Have they forgotten what common sense is?
Chantel, UK,
All grades are equivalent to a numerical value from 0 to 100. If an A is between 80 and 100, then how can you introduce an A*? How is ispossible to achieve more than 100 out of 100 for an exam paper?
J. Brennan, London,
You recently reported on the dire state of this year's physics paper. I'm now 66 and never studied physics, however, I had a go and achieved fifty percent, merely using common sense and stuff I've picked up over the years. If, as Gordon Brown says, future scientists face great challenges in competing internationally in the future, I don't think we have much chance unless great changes are made!!! Perhaps he isn't aware that ticking boxes does not stretch the imagination.
shirley bowen, Blackpool, UK
Is it the level of difficulty of the exam papers or the strictness (or lack of it) in marking which should be questioned? In the past a percentage of marks for all subjects was given over to clarity and accuracy in communication ie spelling, grammar and legibility were all taken into consideration. This is clearly no longer the case with many A and degree level students barely able to string a meaningful sentence together.
I can appreciate that many A-level students can possess a 'knowledge' of their subjects that might be worthy of an 'A' grade, but as this knowledge is mostly tested by a written exam, surely we should penalise those students who cannot communicate the knowledge effectively. This would create a greater spread across the grades, allowing an 'A' to be recognised as a high achievement and remove the need to create the nonsensical A* grade.
John McCormick, Belfast, N. Ireland
Since it is employers and in particular universities that are complaining about our system and since it is these bodies who need them to judge candidates why not give them, and in particular universities a say in how exams are set and marked? Would this not be as sensible as making the QCA independent?
Paul Owen, Birmingham, UK
Independent, yet funded by the Government? Yeh right.
Judy , Liverpool, england
Andrew Williams is dead right: I compared the 2006 physics GCSE exam reported in this column a few weeks ago with my GCE "O" Level physics exam paper from June 1960 which for some strange reason I have kept along with all 9 other subjects I was studying in 5th form. No "multiple choice" stuff (when in doubt always choose option "c"), I actually had to calculate things, and write mini-essays on topics.
I was also among the last "generations" to actually be taught grammar in school (but even so still learnt more about grammar from studying French than from the English Language subject even then).
During my career I noticed the progressive decline in the ability to spell correctly, properly construct sentences and even do relatively simple mathematics: "Percentages? How do you do those?"
One wonders if it is too late to turn things round when you see how far down the education scale the UK has slipped.
Gerry Watts, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Perhaps the people that are making comments should go and do the examination courses themselves. I don't think they are easy and the grades aren't easy to attain either. It is sheer hard work all the way through. However we ought to be looking at the people who are not even reaching that level and why?
There are also a lot of adults with disabilities that would also reach a higher level if different approaches of teachings took place. The teachers have a lot of pressure they try and deliver the courses but in reality too much is crammed into one year and very often although children may pass an exam but it doesn't actually mean they know the subject well.
simone, kent, uk
Jay - no-one's saying you didn't work hard. What they are saying is that they teach you to pass an exam, not to think critically and apply your knowledge to new situations. I did my GCSEs in 1996 and I felt that way then. It was just a question of getting in there and regurgitating exactly what we had been taught - and if our teachers had been smart enough to teach exactly what was on the syllabus, we basically all got A*s. The same can actually be said of University - and I went to a Russell group university not so long ago. It was only when I moved abroad and saw how the education system works in Canada that I saw how much harder people here work. No choosing subjects aged 14, you graduate with an all round knowledge aged 18, which leaves young adults with a much broader knowledge and not just hyped up to pass exams. We don't blame you but the Government, and it's been happening since way before Tony Blair.
Anna, Canada,
How perfect. So which previously state-owned utility or service which has subsequently been "privatised" or contracted out has not fiddled things to earn a profit at the expense of the users? The exams and results have been gradually downgraded over the past fifteen years, more rapidly over the past ten years, and handing it over to yet another overpaid contractor will only result in them making things look even rosier for themselves. When can we get on with putting education back where it was in the respected days when everyone realised that they had a potential and reached it, without being deluded into thinking that everyone had the same potential as the very intelligent. Let us get back to the basics of everyone learning to read, write and do mental arithmetic by rote in the first three years of education and then lThe American father of our grandchildren in the USA had planned to send them here for university but after just eight short years has totally abandoned it.
Roz Venner, St Neots, England
I wish that everyone would just stop criticisng GCSE and A level results- if we happen to do well why does everyone presume it's because the exams are easy and not because the students have actually worked extremely hard for the grades we rightly deserve.
As my first year at college, having recently completed my GCSEs, I can't stress how disheartening it is to hear all this criticism when I know that I worked the hardest I could've to achieve my results.
Grrr....very fustrating.
Jay, South Yorkshire,
re: Bryan
It was actually the Thatcher goverment that changed the system to the current GCSE format. Including more course work etc, although admittedly exams have been getting even easier under Labour. In truth the result is we are falling way behind our Indian and Chinese counterparts, which is rather worrying....
Stu. R, Edinburgh,
Perhaps the students should also be made aware that, should they wish to work overseas/emigrate, many overseas countries do not recognise qualifications from all UK Universities.
For example, when living in Singapore in the early 1990s, it was announced that only some 20 universities would be counted towards their employment pass "points system". Newly Founded" university would not be acceptable.
sara evans, milton keynes,
Nursery, there there,
School well done eveyone,
University, yippee we have all passed,
Hells kitchen, You stand over there,
the rest of you **** off.
WAYNE, HUNTINGDON, CAMBS
Hurrah,another quango! Britain used to have the finest education system in the world,till the bigoted Labour party dismantled it It is time we gave education back to the teachers and stopped the civil servants interfering.
Bryan H, Retford, England
It may seem an obvious question, but have the powers that be actually compared the level and difficulty of the exams from 25 years ago to that of today's exams?
Andrew Williams, Los Angeles, USA