Falling standards in exams

Here in Britain, the situation seems to be similar in one sense and quite the reverse in another. Pupils with shoddy spelling and grammar appear to be able to gain top GCSE English grades. (I suspect that GCSE is the closest equivalent to CXC.) This slip in standards was exposed by one of the top private schools (known here as public schools).

The school, Harrow for those of you who wish to know its name, has had to introduce a basic literacy test after teachers noticed that pupils were making glaring errors, despite achieving high grades. Nearly two-thirds of those who failed the test on entering sixth form had scored an A in GCSE English.

Tom Wickson, an English teacher at the ?24,000-a-year boys’ boarding school in North-West London (not far from Wembley Stadium), criticised the current GCSE exam system which allows pupils to gain decent grades without a basic standard of spelling.

He gave details of the situation in an article he wrote for the school magazine. He said: “Can’t spell simple words and can’t punctuate a simple sentence but can still get an A in GCSE English. That can’t be right, can it? Yet, at Harrow, we frequently find that this can be the case. Some of the pupils who passed GCSE English with a high grade still cannot spell common words and have no clear idea what a sentence is or how to punctuate it.

“In response to this uncomfortable situation, we have put even more emphasis on teaching boys the importance of spelling and grammar when they first join the school. The important thing to emphasise to them is that despite their good showing in GCSE, they will not impress potential employers if they cannot write an accurate letter or compose a coherent report.”

Mr Wickson added: “If the formal exam does not seem to prize good English, it is clear to us that employers still do. GCSEs may not be easier than in the past but exams now test other skills.

“Simple technical accuracy is not prized as highly as it once was. You can get a good grade in GCSE English by getting the correct answer. And whether or not it is presented very formally is of lesser importance.”

Of greater importance to parents, teachers and students, though, is the fact that A-level exams are to be made tougher, with a return to traditional questions as part of sweeping reforms to help universities and employers identify the brightest students. More open-ended essay-style questions are to be introduced, in place of those that lead students through a series of highly structured answers.

Geoff Parks, admissions tutor for Cambridge University, said: “Re-introducing more essay-style questions would be good educationally because we have been concerned about the compartmentalising of knowledge and the reduced emphasis on skills such as essay writing.”

In addition, a new A* grade is also being considered to challenge the most able youngsters. This is being suggested in the light of the overwhelming number of students who are passing their A-level exams. Next month’s results, for example, are expected to show a record number of passes.

Dr Ken Boston, chief executive of the Government’s Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, told the Times newspaper that there would be major changes to A levels within two years, in response to concerns that the exam had been devalued by big increases in the number of top grades.

Almost a quarter of A-level students who took the exam last year were given an A grade, prompting universities to complain that they could no longer distinguish the best applicants from the merely well-drilled. Many universities have introduced their own tests for popular subjects.

Dr Boston commented: “We are in a position to give universities far more information if they want it. Although an A is between 80 and 100 percent, we can provide more information within the stretch and challenge agenda.

“One possibility is to produce a grade higher than the current A-grade, while continuing to maintain the standard of the A grade. We can introduce an A* grade, either by a fixed percentage each year or by setting a benchmark of, say, 90 percent.”

He said he believed that A level exams would remain the principal test for university entry but that it would face growing competition from the International Baccalaureate and other qualifications.

He added that the introduction of “Advanced Extension Awards” in 2002, a scheme to stretch the top ten per cent of students, had not been a success because universities were not asking for the qualification.

This year’s results will be released to more than 250,000 students in a month’s time. The pass rate is expected to rise for the 24th successive year, from 96.2 percent in 2005.

This will revive controversy over the Government’s rejection last year of a proposal to replace A-levels and GCSEs with a new diploma.

The proposal, made by Sir Mike Tomlinson, a board member of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, had also called for the introduction of A+ and A++ grades for the top five per cent of candidates, in return for answering more difficult exam questions.

At the moment, the Authority is awaiting approval from Education Secretary Alan Johnson for propoals to scrap coursework in some A-levels and to place tight restrictions on it in others.

Students will be required to complete coursework under supervision in classrooms to prevent parents assisting them. It would seem that Dr Adesh Nanan is not the only one worried about falling standards.