The English Baccalaureate, explained

[Rob]

The English Baccalaureate, explained
By Jack (Coenred)

It’s been two years since the fiasco of the British general election, which ended with Cameron and Clegg promising change and reform to wherever they thought it was needed. Following the non-record breaking exam results of 2012, they turned their collective gaze to the education system. They announced that they would find a way to turn it into a more fair and well-rounded system. However, what are the changes they’re making? Who do they affect?

What are GCSEs?
The current system is that of the GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education). A standard GCSE course consists of several modules, each one with its own exam at the end. This means that the student is tested on every aspect of the course; therefore, it provides a much more detailed view of what they have learned. Occasionally, there will also be some coursework that examines how students are able to perform over an extended length of time, and gives people who struggle with exams a chance to boost their grades. 2012 has been the first year since 1988 (when they were first taken) that the results haven’t been higher than any previous year. This is one of the main reasons that the government began looking at reforming the system.

Changes to GCSE
So far, the largest and most important changes that have been made are to the GCSE exams taken by students at the age of sixteen. These exams are to be replaced by the brand-new English Baccalaureate. They hold a remarkable similarity to the old O-level exams, which were scrapped in the late 1980s by Margaret Thatcher, due to the belief that they had become out-of-date. The basic idea is that students will spend two years learning a subject, and will then have to take a single exam at the very end, thus removing modules, coursework, and summing up two years of work into a couple of hours.

They are also meant to encourage students to take a wider range of subjects. For example, someone taking only art-based subjects will also have to study a scientific or humanities subject. This is supposedly meant to make the student more employable in the future, and has nothing to do with international educational ratings at the expense of student enjoyment.

Removing coursework is believed to be an attempt at making grades fairer, because it assesses the child purely on their own knowledge, not that of any third parties who may or may not be helping them (such as friends and family). The removal of modules is intended to stop the constant retaking of exams in order to obtain the best possible grade.

Exam boards
The second major change is that exam boards will now only examine one subject each. The subjects given to the boards are based on who provides the best, most challenging course for that subject. This is due to the belief that exam boards are competing in a ‘race to the bottom,’ with different boards trying to attract more schools by making it easier for students to pass.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
With each country having a certain level of independence, there have been some debates amongst these countries over whether to accept the changes, or to keep the current GCSE structure. All three countries have spoken out against the changes, although none have said whether or not they will adopt them. The closest to this is the Welsh Assembly, stating that it ‘might’ keep the current GCSE structure.

There are several more changes to be announced in the future that are aimed at A-level and university standard education. Whether or not these are at the same standard of change as the GCSE reforms hasn't yet been decided, but it is likely that they will have a strong effect on the students who take them, as well as the teachers working in the schools. Whether people like them or not, the changes are almost guaranteed to happen, although no one can be sure exactly how long they will last for.