The most widely taken exam in the world, GCSE, is not preparing students for employment role, a sizable proportion of British head teachers opine, according to a recent survey from the exams regulator. Only 31 percent of heads agreed that the qualification for the 16-year-olds was good enough to prepare students for work, compared to 42 percent who thought the same in 2017.
Following new GCSEs regulations in England, teachers have hinted at a declining interest in GCSEs, where an A grade has been replaced with a 9 on a 1 to 10 scale to create a gold standard qualification.
The general secretary of the Association of School and Colleges Leaders claimed that less head teachers were likely to have faith in the qualification as the government’s reforms approved academic subjects, rather than skill based learning that employers required.
The general secretary said there was a need for a more humane approach that was better tailored to the aspirations of individual students. His comments com after prominent figures in the sector called for GCSEs to be taken off from the educational system and replaced with a qualification that recognized academic and technical skills.
Former education secretary Lord Baker also demanded GCSE exams be “ditched”, saying businesses did not value “rote learning of facts and figures”.