GCSE results

ePolitix.com Stakeholders comment on the latest GCSE results.

Government response: Schools minister Jim Knight

Jim Knight said: "I want to congratulate all students celebrating their results today. Good GCSEs are the product of the hard work of students and teachers - everyone should take pride in these results.

"The steady improvement over the last 10 years is unarguable evidence of rising achievement and the benefits of sustained investment in teaching and resources. GCSEs are robust, rigorous and respected and a vital stepping stone to life to further study and employment.”

Party response: Liberal Democrat schools spokesman Stephen Williams

Stephen Williams said: "Children and their teachers are to be congratulated on their results. But the government should be worried about overall performance.

"Fewer than half of 16-year-olds will leave compulsory education with five good passes including Maths and English. As our economy demands higher skills in order for Britain to remain competitive, we must focus relentlessly on driving up standards.

"Spotting and tackling underachievement at an early age is vital. The 'pupil premium' proposed by the Liberal Democrats would provide extra investment in the education of children from deprived backgrounds.

"The government’s abandonment of the National Curriculum requirement for pupils to study a language has caused the inevitable decline in pupils taking modern languages, with serious economic implications.

"The huge gap between boys and girls getting A to C grades in English is disturbing. More must be done to encourage boys to enjoy reading and perform well at writing from an early age."

 
Stakeholder response: The National Union of Teachers

To send a comment to the NUT, click here 

Steve Sinnott, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said: "Once again, the hard work of young people and their teachers has shown improving results and they are to be congratulated. This is particularly true for comprehensive schools which are achieving greater improvement than other schools.

"Grammar and private schools are highly selective, rejecting those they believe will not perform as well. At these schools, improvement has levelled off.

"Comprehensive schools take pupils of all abilities. The achievement of their pupils continues to improve at a higher rate.

"Since GCSEs were introduced, the number of young people getting A* to C grades has doubled when compared with the O-level pass rate. This is a success story for our education system and should be celebrated rather than denigrated.

"GCSE remains a high quality qualification for young people and acts as a guide to future career prospects. It remains highly relevant and valuable to all."

 

Stakeholder response: Association of Teachers and Lecturers

To send a comment to the ATL, click here

ATL general secretary Dr Mary Bousted said:  "We naturally congratulate the hard work and dedication of pupils, their teachers and school staff which are reflected in today’s GCSE results. 

"But when the dust has settled over the number getting A*s and As, we all need to concentrate on the waste of talent and time. 

"Over 40 per cent of students fail to get five GCSE passes, and despite getting the grades, many more still lack the skills they will need.

"It is a tragic shame this year’s hard-won achievements do not guarantee the skills needed to confidently meet the challenges of living in the 21st century. 

"This is not about whether the exams have been ‘dumbed down’ or not.  It is because the National Curriculum and assessment system is irrelevant and unresponsive to the needs of many students and is based on shallow learning, rather than real understanding.

"Our current curriculum turns many pupils into cynical test-takers, rather than the ever-curious learners we need.

"We need an education system which encourages real learning and acquiring skills, rather than a target culture which promotes teaching to pass tests. 

"Employers continuously say they want young people who can think on their feet, are good at research, innovative, and good at team working – but too many students are still leaving school without these skills. 

"Unless the government allows fundamental changes to the National Curriculum, we will continue to fail to equip our children with the skills and abilities to approach the rest of their lives with ambition and confidence."

Stakeholder Response: Assessment and Qualifications Alliance

To send a comment to the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance, click here

Dr Mike Cresswell, Director General of Assessment and Qualifications Alliance said: "With the publication of the GCSE results for 2007, it is timely to look at the changes in outcomes over the recent past and reflect upon what they tell us about the performance of our young people.

"Each year, AQA and the other awarding bodies set GCSE standards by following procedures which have been independently acknowledged by an international study to be among the best in the world and are designed to ensure that standards do not change.

"These procedures are specified by Government regulators (QCA in England , DELLS in Wales and CCEA in Northern Ireland ) and subject to close scrutiny by them. 

"These scrutinies, and other independent observers, all report that the procedures are closely followed and that the judgements of the quality of candidates’ work which they involve are made with great care and skill.

"Despite this independent verification that the procedures used to maintain standards in GCSE examinations are excellent, national pass rates for the top grades have increased significantly. 

"In the last 5 years, the overall Grade A rate has gone from 16.8% in 2003 to 19.5% in 2007.  For Grade C, the pass rate was 58.2% in 2003 and is 63.3% in 2006.
Some commentators argue that these increases are so large that the examinations must have become easier. 

"This is speculation, based upon the dubious assumptions that schools have made no improvements in the last few years and that young people today cannot really be achieving more that those of five years ago.  There is no independent evidence for these assumptions. 

"In fact, there is good reason to believe that young people now work harder than ever and that recent years have seen schools striving harder than ever to improve the quality of the education which they provide.

"So what do the recent increases in GCSE pass rates actually mean for 16 year olds?
Think of a group of half a dozen average 16 year olds, doing 8 GCSEs each this year.

"Of the 48 results they got between them, 30 were Grade Cs or better, with just 9 being Grade A or A*.  In 2003, the corresponding figures for the same group of 6 average candidates would have been 28 Grade Cs or better, 8 of which were Grade A or A*.

"Looked at in this way, the improvement in GCSE results over the last five years is well within what can reasonably be expected of our school system and not evidence which supports the notion that GCSE standards have changed.

"Young people, employers and the nation at large can have complete confidence in GCSE standards.  The improving results reflect the continuing improvement of our schools and the hard work of our young people.  We should celebrate their achievement."