‘Extreme concern’ at drop in core GCSE results
SCHOOL leaders say they are “extremely concerned” at the fall in the percentage of 16-year-olds passing English language and Welsh second language at A*-C reported in yesterday’s GCSE results.
The Association of School and College Leaders Cymru called on the Welsh Government and regulators to work with them to find out what has caused the fall in grades.
The news emerged on a results
day that showed Wales recorded improved GCSE A* to C grades but a slight fall in the top grades A* to A.
Girls have outperformed boys at all grades. A total 22% of girls achieved an A* or A, compared with 14.6% of boys, and 67.6% of girls achieved A*-C grades, compared with 57.8% of boys.
THE fall in the percentage of 16-year-olds passing English language and Welsh second language at A*-C in yesterday’s GCSE results has sparked concern among school leaders.
The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) Cymru called on the Welsh Government and regulators to work with them to find out what has caused the fall in grades.
For English language, grade Cs were down 4.3 percentage points on last year, with 59.6% achieving these grades compared to 63.9% in 2018.
English literature results were down, with 74.9% of students achieving grades A*-C – compared to 79.7% last year. Entries have increased by 4,299, which may partly explain the fall, says the exam regulator.
Welsh second language results were down more than 10%, with 63.1% achieving grades A*-C in 2019, compared to 74.8% in 2018. This fall is partly owing to the rise in entries following the end of the Welsh language short course GCSE.
For English language, grade Cs are down 4.3 percentage points on last year, with 59.6% achieving these grades compared to 63.9% in 2018.
There was a slight increase in
grades A*-C for Welsh literature, with 76.4% of students achieving A*-C grades this year, compared to 76.0% in 2018.
This is the last year that schools will be ranked on the number of their five A* to C grades.
From September, the Welsh Government will replace that traditional measure with a points score – known as the Capped 9 Points Score.
Eithne Hughes, incoming director of the ASCL Cymru, said: “We are extremely concerned about the decline in the percentage of 16-yearolds passing English language and Welsh second language at A*-C and we are today calling on the Welsh Government and regulators to work with us to understand the reasons which have led to this situation.
“We can assure the public that there has been absolutely no let-up in the commitment of schools to produce the very best outcomes for their pupils, and it is important to understand that these results come at a time of enormous change in the Welsh education system, which has included a huge overhaul of GCSE specifications.
“We need to work out exactly how these factors may have impacted upon results and then ensure that we address any issues that this process raises rather than jumping to conclusions. It is vital to get this right so that we are in the best position possible to implement the even more ambitious reforms which are planned to the Welsh curriculum over the next few years.”
Her comments come as Wales recorded improved GCSE A* to C grades but a slight fall in the top grades A* to A in yesterday morning’s results.
At the same time there was a drop in results in core subjects – English and Welsh language and maths at lower grades.
The National Association of Head Teachers Cymru has also expressed concern. Director Rob Williams said: “It is clear the overall GCSE results picture is a complex one and, particularly in certain subjects such as English, now requires a more indepth study to unpick the issues affecting performance. It is also worth noting that despite the difficulties, there has been a slight increase in GCSE outcomes at grade C.”
Results from exam board the WJEC show the proportion who achieved an A*-C is up by 1.2 percentage points to 62.8% this summer after a five-year low last year.
In 2018, the A* to C pass rate dropped to its lowest since 2005.
The rise in A* to C grades comes at the same time as school performance will no longer be rated on the proportion of students reaching this standard.
The number of GCSEs sat in Wales this year rose by 8.8% from 271,761 to 295,690. This rise is partly owing to a decline in early entries and a rise in summer entries as schools will now
be judged on the first result only and not re-sits.
Results for the WJEC’s two maths GCSEs were down slightly. For maths numeracy 58.1% of students achieved grade A*-C; a slight decrease of 1.5 percentage points on 2018. For maths 59.1% got A* to C, a slight fall of 1.9 percentage points.
The proportion of students achieving A* grades for each of the separate science subjects increased, with biology increasing 0.8 percentage points to 18.2%, chemistry increasing 1.9 percentage points to 20.1%, and physics increasing 3.5 percentage points to 21.9%.
This year there was also an increase of 1.3 percentage points, to 52.2%, in the proportion of students achieving grades A*-C in the GCSE Science Double Award qualification.
The Double Award qualification and the separate science qualifications are of the same academic standard, however, the separate science subjects continue to attract the highest proportion of the most able students.
Changes in entry patterns mean comparisons with previous years is tricky, and comparisons with results across the border are also increasingly difficult because of GCSE reforms here and in England and Northern Ireland, said regulator Qualifications Wales.
And it warned that while results nationally have remained stable at A and improved at C and G, there could be greater variation in results at school level.
Responding to the fall in English results, Qualifications Wales said: “GCSE English language has seen a 4.1% fall in performance this year, explained by a drop at grade C. Grade boundaries are lower than last year and, having monitored the subject closely, we are confident that they have been established appropriately and that this summer’s award is fair for students.”
Responding to the Welsh second language results, Education Minister Kirsty Williams said: “As this is a more challenging qualification, it was expected that overall attainment would be affected.
“However, the number of pupils achieving A*-C results are up by over 1,300.
“There is still work to be done.”