Once again A’ Level results were collected by worried sixth formers and once again they performed better than any year group that had gone before them. It seems we are trapped in an unending spiral of grade inflation, and if it continues on its current trajectory, it won’t be long before every student is an A-grade student.…
Progressive educationalists and the education unions are again attempting to abolish GCSEs – they really don’t want to test at all. The National Education Union said it will be debating a motion at its Easter conference to abolish the exams. This would be disastrous for children’s education. GCSEs have been in place for many years…
An imminent U-turn by Education Secretary Gavin Williamson might well see exams re-instated this year. In a letter to the chief regulator, Williamson said he would like to ‘explore the possibility of providing externally set tasks or papers’. I said at the time of cancellation that it was a decision made too early and that…
The abandonment of GCSE and A-Levels this summer is unnecessary and will further degrade confidence in the system. The decision to cancel exams has been taken too early – it shows a lack of ambition and is a major disservice to the students. With the Covid vaccine being rolled out the exams could have been…
Exams are the best and fairest way to judge a child’s progress – so cancelling them in Scotland next year will do major harm. The Higher and Advanced Higher exams – the equivalent of A-Levels – will not go ahead, and neither will the National 5 exams – the equivalent of GCSEs. Instead, results will…