A school leaders’ union has called for GCSE exams to be spread over two years in its submission to the curriculum and assessment review.
The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) says the “extent of the current reliance on terminal exams is unnecessary and damaging to young people”.
ASCL does not recommend returning to a fully modular system, but says students could be allowed to take papers within a qualification at the end of Year 10 rather than having to do them all in Year 11.
The union also says in its response to the review that new assessments in literacy and numeracy would be taken by all learners and must be developed separately from English and maths GCSEs.
Reaching ‘forgotten third’ of students
These new assessments would aim to address the “forgotten third” of students who struggle to achieve a pass in GCSE English and maths.
In addition, the “humiliating” and “demotivating” resit policy should be scrapped, ASCL says. Students who do not get a grade 4 in English and maths GCSEs are currently required to retake post-16 until they pass.
ASCL calls for the review, led by Professor Becky Francis, to recommend dedicated funding for extracurricular opportunities for disadvantaged learners to help narrow the disadvantage gap.
The ASCL submission also calls for a reduction in the burden of Sats in Year 6, advising further consultation on the content and size of key stage 2 assessments.
On key stage 2 assessments, NAHT school leaders’ union says in its submission that the multiplication tables check, the phonics screening check and key stage 2 grammar, punctuation and spelling tests are all “unnecessary and should be scrapped”.
ASCL calls for the removal of the English Baccalaureate as a performance measure. It instead recommends including creative subjects in Attainment 8 and Progress 8 to incentivise take-up.
It says the national curriculum should be “slimmed down” and that the government should consult on the percentage of the average school timetable taken up by the national curriculum.
Risk of widening disadvantage gap
The ASCL submission warns that failure to do this could result in a widening of the disadvantage gap, if schools end up using differing amounts of their timetable to teach the national curriculum.
It also calls for the government to keep applied general qualifications.
ASCL curriculum and assessment specialist Tom Middlehurst said: “We have to move away from the notion that GCSEs are a rite of passage to be endured.”
The union advises that curriculum and assessment review should be iterative. ASCL’s proposed approach would see an appointing committee appoint a standing committee, which in turn would appoint expert groups to make curriculum reform recommendations.
The curriculum and assessment review’s call for evidence closed today. It will publish its recommendations next year.
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