Tougher GCSEs are only part of the answer
Written by Neil Carberry, Director for employment and skills, CBI
Constant piecemeal reform of individual qualifications misses the point - we need a clearer, more holistic strategy on education.
There has been no more contested ground in education over the past 12 months than reforming GCSEs – and today’s proposals were Coalition ministers’ third attempt, at my count, to win consensus.
There’s little doubt the current system is increasingly outdated and unfit for purpose. It puts young people on a depressing two-year treadmill of exam resits, coursework and modules – while failing to stretch the brightest and allowing others to fall behind.
Business wants higher standards and the right exams to assess them. The world of work is changing and demand for higher skills is rising. So on first analysis, the proposed tougher programmes of study, particularly focusing on core maths and science knowledge, are a big step in the right direction.
However, tougher GCSEs - although necessary - are not an end in themselves.
There is a broader debate to be had about how relevant high-stakes exams at 16 will become over the next few years. What worked for the 20th century is not going to work for the 21st century. With the education and training participation age rising to 17 this September and 18 in 2015, my fear is that GCSEs risk becoming increasingly obsolete.
That’s why constant piecemeal reform of individual qualifications misses the point. The CBI has been calling for a much a clearer, more holistic strategy to education reform which gives every young person a rigorous academic or vocational education from 14 to 18. GCSEs should only be a stepping stone on that road.
The litmus test of any school reform programme is how it equips young people for life. The job market is more complex than ever, so we need to make the transition from education to work smoother.
Our First Steps report sets out clearly how the curriculum needs to evolve to give students rigorous education but also leave them rounded and grounded. And finally, it is worth drawing a salutary lesson from exam reforms of the recent past.
Today’s Education Select Committee report on the marking fiasco around last year’s English GCSEs shows what happens when exams are poorly designed. Ministers have set out a stiff timetable to introduce new GCSEs for September 2015 – they need to take the education system with them. This cannot be done by diktat from Whitehall. Ofqual will play a vital role in making sure these changes are well thought out and implemented.
In addition, there is concern about the implications of breaking up a single exam system in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. As a proud Scot, I am less concerned. Scotland has long had a separate exam system, so it is not as if this is unprecedented. And moreover, employers look at attitudes, aptitudes and experience, not just qualifications, when taking on staff.
But ministers will need to work through the practical implications as changes are phased in. And businesses will need to be clear about the differences to eliminate confusion if people with similar sounding results, from either side of the border, go for the same job.
This is not just down to government. Business, schools, colleges and teachers need to raise their game and ensure what happens in the classroom is relevant to the outside world. We can’t afford to waste talent, or tight public funding, when the long-term economic outlook is so challenging.