Come on. We knew that the new GCSE exams would not be straightforward or logical: nothing from the DfE ever is. But I have to be honest – I wasn’t expecting anything quite as stupid as this.
A level 4 has now been deemed an acceptable pass rate for pupils’ English and maths GCSE, but for schools to be deemed as good enough, these subjects must be at least level 5.
Anyone who has ever tried to encourage a reluctant teenager to do more than they really have to will know how impossible it will be for schools not to fall foul of this. A pupil who struggles with English or maths will be relieved to reach the level that will allow them to pass; on reaching that level 4, they will want to focus on those subjects at which they hope to excel. And who can blame them?
Teachers, on the other hand, will now be faced with the almost impossible task of persuading those pupils to aim even higher and work much harder and longer on the very subjects they most hate.
I have ranted many times about the stupidity of making teachers more accountable for their pupils’ achievements than the pupils themselves: the accountability needs to be more with the pupil. Not completely, but largely.
This step is yet another way to present teachers as not working hard enough.
Having already helped their pupils achieve what may have seemed unachievable, teachers will still be deemed as failing.
The DfE thinks it can have it both ways: happy school leavers and parents who will see the system as fairer (and be more likely to vote Tory at the next election), but at the same time beaten and demoralised teachers who will be, once again, the scapegoat for society’s ills.
angryexteacher 