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/ RESPONSE FROM THE NATIONAL UNION OF TEACHERS TO THE DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION’S REFORMED GCSE SUBJECT CONTENT CONSULTATION
JULY 2013

Introduction

  1. The National Union of Teachers (NUT) has made a detailed response to the Ofqual GCSE consultation in parallel with its response to the DfE consultation.
  1. The NUT considers it inappropriate that such a significant consultation has a very limited period for response and, in particular, that it was launched during the summer examination period and will close during the school summer holidays. This will greatly restrict the ability of the teaching profession to engage fully with the proposals. The engagement of teachers themselves in qualification reform should be considered a prerequisite and the support of teachers for reform should be considered essential to the success of new or revised qualifications.
  1. The NUT has serious reservations about the direction of the reforms, in particular the presumption towards linear courses assessed mainly or solely through external examination, and with the removal of tiered papers.
  1. The NUT’s reservations are exacerbated by the fact that both Wales and Northern Ireland intend to retain GCSEs, but seem unwilling to adopt the same proposals which the DfE has outlined for England. This will lead to a confusing qualifications structure across Great Britain and Northern Ireland whereby qualifications which may have the same title are not of the same standard or design, and may differ in their content, assessment and grading.
  1. The NUT is concerned also at the pace of reform. Changes to qualifications should have the appropriate lead in times for schools and teachers to prepare. They should also be properly trialled and evaluated to ensure that candidates are not disadvantaged and to deal with any design problems inherent in the exam. The grading controversies for GCSE in Summer 2012 and for the first examination of A2 papers in 2002 demonstrate the problems which can occur from rushed qualification change, and the way in which confidence in exams can be eroded. Both of these occurrences contrast with the original introduction of GCSE in the 1980s which allowed time for preparation and where the teaching profession itself was engaged with and supportive of the reforms.
  1. The introduction of new GCSEs also comes at a time when secondary schools are expected to deal with A level reform and the introduction of a new National Curriculum. The NUT believes that reform would be better introduced with a developing programme, for example the introduction of a new National Curriculum first, followed by qualifications reform at key stage 4 and then post 16 at a later stage once changes have been allowed time to ‘bed in’.
  1. The NUT agrees with the DfE that one strength of existing GCSEs is the concept of ‘an almost universal qualification’ and that this intention should be retained in any GCSE reform programme. The NUT is concerned, however, that the proposals as outlined will do little to support the achievement of the group of learners who are likely to attain at current GCSE grades D-G. While the NUT supports the concept of qualifications which are rewarding and sufficiently demanding for the highest attainers, it is vital that the achievement of all learners is recognised, that all learners have appropriate progression routes to further study, and that qualifications awards are understood by employers, learners themselves, and the general public as well as by education and training providers.
  1. The NUT believes that all teachers should have access to high quality training and professional development to support them in the teaching of new specifications.
  1. The NUT is concerned that the recruitment and retention of markers is already problematic, and that a return to all examinations being held in the summer at the end of 2 year courses for all candidates could place pressure on the marking system. It is vital that there is a strategy for the recruitment and retention of markers, for their training, and for the quality assurance of marking structures to be in place as a prerequisite for the kind of changes to the examination system which the DfE proposes.
  1. If tiering is no longer to be available in most examinations, there needs to be consideration of how to ensure students who might previously done the Foundation level examination can access examinations, without disadvantaging the most able candidates.
  1. If subjects are to be assessed solely through examination, the NUT believes that there may be negative implications for those students who wish to continue their studies in certain subjects to A level and beyond, not least terms of demonstrating independent learning and study skills or the ability to engage in and receive recognition for more individual project work, which both higher education institutions and employers value and wish to encourage in qualifications. Assessment only by examination would suggest additionally that achievement in qualifications will be based on effective recall and this may lead to a superficial approach to subjects by learners themselves compared to the range of assessment styles that could be on offer as appropriate to the different subjects.

English Language and English Literature

  1. The NUT is concerned at proposals that speaking and listening should no longer contribute to the GCSE grade and has set out its concerns in detail in its response to the relevant Ofqual consultation. In particular, the proposals are likely in effect to ‘downgrade’ the importance of speaking and listening in the minds of learners and ‘end users’, despite the fact that employers cite the importance of strong communication skills for entry to employment and success in the workplace.
  1. The removal of Speaking and Listening from the final grade is of concern: skills in speaking and listening are an essential part of adult life, both in the world of work and to allow young people to become articulate and active citizens. Additionally, the development of oral skills is key to building students’ confidence in their reading and writing. The removal of Speaking and Listening as an integral part of the English Language GCSE will inevitably downgrade its importance, to the detriment of our students. It also disadvantages many of our most vulnerable students, including ethnic minority and students with English as an Additional Language.
  1. It is also a matter of concern that the speaking and listening skills referred to are limited in scope: listening is presented as a passive activity, largely related to answering questions and feeding back on presentations, rather than as an active skill that is crucial to shaping high quality discussion, and to testing out ideas and concepts. There are also no references to drama or role play - imagination based activities that allow students to extend their repertoire and to enjoy their engagement with learning.
  1. The move to an exam only linear course is an issue of serious concern for English Language and English Literature courses, both of which are best assessed in a variety of ways, rather than in only one. Additionally, the best and most thoughtful responses in English often come when students have time to plan, think and re-consider, rather than when they have to write under pressure. This will tend to lead to a stock response to texts, particularly literary texts, rather than to independent and considered responses.
  1. The introduction of an all exam-based course also removes from students the requirement to research and work independently. This would not support students who wished to move onto the study of English at A level. There are also concerns that some students would study very little or no literature, if schools entered them only for English Language.
  1. The proposed use of more extended writing in exams is more welcome, as it will discourage bite-sized, de-contextualised use of extracts.
  1. The NUT agrees that English literature courses should encourage reading for pleasure and should encompass a range of texts.
  1. The NUT recognises that the concept of a ‘canon’ of English literature is one that is fluid and open to debate. Much literary criticism over the past 40 years has been concerned to challenge or extend the concept of the literary canon.While the NUT supports the concept of students having access to a broad range of texts, specifications should recognise that there is a range of writing in English beyond Britain itself, including from Ireland, North America, and countries of the Commonwealth and students should be encouraged to read and critically appreciate texts from a range of cultures. Indeed this is recognised in the proposals for the National Curriculum, but not in the scope of subject content for GCSE. The required areas for reading seem arbitrary. Why, for example, should a 20th Century novel not be read rather than a 19th Century one? Why should Romantic poets be specified rather than, for example, Metaphysical poets? The NUT notes also that there is no reference to women writers whatever.
  1. The NUT is perplexed by the requirement that students should study high quality texts including journalism, and then to prohibit ‘digital texts’. This shows a lack of understanding of where students in the 21st century encounter texts of all kinds, including journalism. The NUT believes GCSE English language study should encourage students to become discriminating readers of all kinds of texts, including digital texts, so as to empower them to use digital sources and the internet effectively and critically.

Mathematics

  1. The NUT agrees that there is a particular case for differentiated assessment in mathematics. The concept of a ‘core’ with ‘extensions’ for those students intending to pursue STEM subjects at A level or beyond may have some merits and the NUT looks forward to contributing to a robust Ofqual consultation on differentiated assessment in maths which can recognise the mathematical knowledge, understanding and skills of all learners, and which crucially will not act as a barrier or hurdle to any learner, especially in regard to progression to future learning.

Sciences

  1. The NUT believes that end of course exams replacing coursework is problematic in relation to science, where learners should be encouraged to engage in practical science and scientific enquiry, and should have their knowledge, skills and understanding as applied to such practical science work recognised. The NUT believes that coursework and controlled assessment models for practical science are time consuming, but can have merit in developing scientific skills.
  1. All students should be encouraged to develop ‘scientific literacy’ appropriate to 21st Century life. The NUT is concerned that the specified content for separate sciences in particular is most appropriate to that minority of students who are very able mathematically and scientifically, and are most likely to progress to study of STEM subjects at A level and beyond.
  1. The NUT is concerned also that there must be a concerted attempt to ensure that there is not a return to ‘gendered’ subject choices in sciences – for example with disproportionate numbers of boys studying physics and girls studying biology.

Geography

  1. The NUT believes that the presumption towards end of course assessment by external examination is particularly problematic in relation to geography also, where fieldwork should form an important part of the course and should be appropriately recognised in the grade of any GCSE award made.
  1. If the DfE has concerns that a coursework element cannot be sufficiently reliably internally assessed, it should collate and publish evidence on the assessment of geography fieldwork through internally marked coursework and should consult separately on, and invest appropriately in, any moderation schemes or other such measures which might be deemed necessary to ensure confidence in the assessment of fieldwork.

History

  1. The NUT would welcome the introduction of an historical study investigation, and indeed would welcome similar considerations for other subjects also. The presumption towards terminal assessment by examination only would make its introduction problematic however. In particular, if the investigation does not contribute to GCSE grades, it could prove demotivating for some students and prevent them from benefitting fully from the possibilities such a project could offer. It is unclear also whether and how employers and further education and training providers will understand, value, and recognise the contribution it has made to an individual’s development if it does not contribute to the qualification grade award.
  1. The NUT believes, as with fieldwork in geography, there is a strong case for a more detailed consideration of the role of internal assessment and an exploration of and investment in means of ensuring its reliability and public confidence in internally assessed elements of courses. Such a consideration could be widened to consider coursework style elements in other subjects also. Any such consideration should closely involve the teaching profession itself.
  1. The NUT believes that the proposal to increase the study of British history to make up 40 per cent of the course content requires careful consideration and discussion, especially given the role of the United Kingdom in the Commonwealth, Europe and globally, and the reality of the richness of cultures and backgrounds reflected in British schools.

Modern Languages

  1. The NUT is concerned that the demands of the content for modern language are very high given that it is not proposed to have differentiated papers, in relation to responding to literary texts, and in the light of the requirement to use ‘creative and complex’ language to ‘interest, inform and convince’.
  1. It is not clear what is meant by ‘relevant abridged or adapted literary texts’, and it is important that the correct balance is maintained to ensure accessibility for all candidates without rendering the use of texts inauthentic through adaptation or abridging.
  1. The NUT is concerned that requirements such as ‘to convey key messages accurately and to apply grammatical knowledge of language and structures in context’ should not herald a return to ‘negative marking’, for example for grammatical errors, which rightly disappeared following the demise of O levels. Candidates should receive appropriate recognition for demonstrating what they can achieve rather than being penalised for errors.
  1. The NUT is concerned particularly that the removal of differentiated assessment and a desire to make MFL examinations more challenging will further damage the take up of languages at key stage 4. This would be particularly inappropriate give the links between Britain and the European Union, the Commonwealth, and within an increasingly ‘globalised’ world.

Ancient Languages

  1. The NUT believes that the proposals will not contribute to altering the perception of the study of ancient languages as an ‘elite’ and exclusive pursuit reserved mainly for those in independent and selective state schools. In any case, any promotion of the study of ancient languages beyond its current base would require a substantial investment in teacher recruitment or the professional development of the existing teaching workforce.

Conclusion

  1. The NUT urges the DfE to extend the consultation period for the reform of GCSE in order to enable the teaching profession to engage more fully on issues both of subject content, and the more technical regulatory aspects being conducted through the parallel Ofqual consultation.
  1. It urges the DfE also to revise its plans for the introduction of new GCSEs and have a sustainable rolling programme for reform which begins with the introduction of a new National Curriculum at key stage 3, followed by its introduction at key stage 4 and the revision of GCSE, and the revision of A levels and post 16 qualifications in later years. Such a reform programme would be more sustainable for schools and would enable the DfE to properly pilot, evaluate, and publish information concerning proposed new qualifications to ensure that they will be reliable, valid, fit for purpose, and have the confidence of the public, employers, and education and training providers.

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