Leading article: Pupils lose out with a system so prone to manipulation {independent uk}

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http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/leading-articles/leading-article-pupils-lose-out-with-a-system-so-prone-to-manipulation-2343908.html

This year's GCSE results, announced yesterday, show some worrying trends despite the overall increase in the pass rate – particularly among the higher grades where A* to C grades have increased by 0.8 per cent to 69.8 per cent.

A new tendency has emerged this year of schools putting their pupils in for English and maths GCSEs early. This would be all well and good if the pupils were ready to take them and could then move on early to AS-level study. But what seems to be happening is that schools are putting them in for the exam in the winter because of the pressures they face to maximise the number of pupils getting five A* to C grade passes in maths and English.

If pupils get a top-grade pass, the argument goes, all well and good. They can then be freed up to concentrate on other subjects in the summer. If they fail, then at least the school knows how much work has to be done to secure a top-grade pass in the basics.

This is not in the best interests of the pupils' education – it smacks of the debate we have had about teaching to the test for the SATs taken by 11-year-olds over the past few years. There is, after all, little time for creative study in English if the pupil concerned has to concentrate on taking the exam twice within six months.




***if i'm going to post an article about ed -- i should spell better.