GCSEs must reflect a changing world
WITH a new curriculum and our changing digital world, GCSEs in Wales had to be revamped. Reform of the subjects offered, exam content and the way candidates are assessed is long overdue.
Exam regulator Qualifications Wales promises the new GCSEs will “look and feel different”. Full details of what that means in practice are yet to be published, but there will be more digital assessment and coursework.
The four-year consultation on the new qualifications took place against the backdrop of Covid classroom closures and a digital transformation forced by the switch to online learning. In an increasingly digital world it makes less sense to assess and sit exams on paper – so doubtless this change will ramp up as the years go on.
Any change is always bound to bring some criticism and the new “made for Wales” GCSEs, to be sat from 2027, are no exception in terms of content and qualifications offered.
The learned bodies of the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Institute of Physics should be listened to when they warn that running a single sciences GCSE alongside a double science GCSE risks creating a two-tier system that could have a detrimental effect on the economy and equality for pupils
The regulator said only a small proportion of candidates will take the single sciences GCSE and the double should be the norm. It would certainly be regrettable if any reform led to a narrowing of knowledge and opportunity for any pupil.
A close eye must also be kept on the new single Welsh literature and language GCSE – and its counterpart in English – which has been added to sit alongside the double GCSE offer for both.
But it is good news that all GCSE candidates will answer the same questions and have the same opportunity to achieve the highest grades, with the removal of tiered GCSEs as are currently offered.
These changes must ensure students can benefit and feel there is a GCSE to fit their achievements and goals.
What this means for results long term is not clear. The regulator said the first set of results in 2027 is expected to be broadly similar to those that would have been expected under the current GCSE system. That’s surprising given the promises being made. But after the Covid years of grading controversy, it is perhaps understandable those in charge will want to steady the ship.