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Killing coursework is a dangerous move

Curriculum Examinations & Qualifications
While national newspapers get overly excited about the possible renaming of GCSEs, the complete loss of coursework and the implications of this for students' learning is not being debated, says SecEd editor Pete Henshaw.

Speculation was rife as SecEd went to press earlier this week over the proposed changes to GCSE qualifications and examinations in England.

The national press rumour mill was in full swing after a report in The Times had suggested that the consultation by exams watchdog Ofqual would propose changing the name of the qualification. It said that “I levels” had been discussed as one option, with the “I” standing for Intermediate.

Headline writers got very, very excited about this.

However, despite the reams of newsprint dedicated to the story, when the consultation emerged on Tuesday (June 11) no such name change was suggested.

The press did get something right. Another proposal about which journalists had gotten equally excited – the scrapping of lettered grading and a move to numbers instead (1 to 8 with 8 being the highest).

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