An interesting news item that popped up alongside the weather eccentricities of our countries yesterday was the news that Education Secretary Michael Gove wants universities to play a large part in the setting of A-level examinations. As things stand, the Department of Education outlines the structure of A-levels and sets subject-specific criteria but Gove has said, “In future, I do not envisage the Department for Education having a role in the development of A-level qualifications.” He added, “I am particularly keen that universities should be able to determine the subject content, and that they should endorse specifications, including details of how the subject should be assessed.” Naturally, the two partisan newspapers are taking particularly opposite stances. The Telegraph call it “excellent” in a comment piece while The Guardian have criticised it both as trying to return to the past at the detriment to the future and as introducing a new kind of class warfare. The Independent merely points out that the exam regulator backs the proposals.
It’s difficult to pinpoint where decisions like this should be made. Is the Department of Education too far removed from both schools and universities to have an idea? Well, then, perhaps having academics involved in the process is a good idea – they know the skills needed for students to survive in university and it’s been well-documented that they aren’t arriving with the correct skills and knowledge. Where do schools and colleges fit in? There you hit the stumbling block because if you exclude them altogether from the process then the actual teaching may become a nightmare. There’s nothing worse in a classroom than a teacher attempting to convey something they don’t feel relevant to anything. The last thing I feel we need as a country is more fragmentation between ‘departments’ (for want of a better term). More and more it seems than everything operates in a vacuum where external factors are considered superfluous. I sound like a broken record, I’m sure I mention this every week. But, then, it’s obviously something that keeps returning to me!
We need collaboration, not all-out warfare. Every policy announcement these days appears to be followed by a ‘defence’ from those affected. In this instance, Christine Blower, head of the National Union of Teachers, expressed disappointment that they were not consulted prior to the announcement. Every press release is followed by political point scoring (from all sides). The actual mechanics and arguments surrounding the announcement are lost in the political tornado.
What are my personal feelings on A-level examinations? Well, I’m all for stepping away from government control in this instance. I think people on the front line should have a say in examinations because they’re the ones who really know what’s going on. However, when I say ‘front line’, I mean everyone on the front line and not just a few elite universities.
Lucy Brown
It worries me that an assumption has been made that all A’ level students are going to University. I wonder what the actual percentage is, I suspect it may be quite high at the beginning of the two yeas, but possibly lower once the second year hits. How will this process work, will local Uni’s set local exams to fit their criteria? What happens to students who intend to go to college or wish to join an apprenticeship after 18, will their learning be relevant to them or will everyone have to sit exams based on, as Lucy suggests, just a few elite University’s criteria. Will it follow that GCSE’s may be decided by other organisations too, possibly a step back to how it was when I was at school, one set of exams for those most likely to go on to A levels and one set for those less able or who may wish to follow a different route.
In England it is to become compulsory for education to go on until 18 as of next year. How will this impact on A levels, as although it is not compulsory for 16 year olds to stay in school, they could choose to go to college, but some may not know what to do and end up in the A level system with no intention of then going on to University. Is this setting them up for a fail, as the exams will no doubt be harder, thereby wasting two years of their educational life. Will some students be encouraged ‘not’ to take A levels based on GCSE results? How much pressure will be put on the system by those at the next level (Universities) to weed out the less hopeful and only nurture the most hopeful ( or dare I say it, the most financially viable) candidates with the risk of losing along the way the borderline students who may well excel in the different environment that University provides. Is this announcement ultimately about saving money and paperwork by fobbing it all off onto another organisation?
Very true, SJ, thanks for reminding me about vocational qualifications. A writer in The Telegraph yesterday pointed out that employers should be more involved in those: http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/drmartinstephen/100149023/michael-gove-seven-out-of-10-could-still-do-better/. He calls vocational qualifications at the moment ‘terminally ill’.
Emphasis is placed, so it seems, on the school/college ranking above all else. High grades equals high ranking, no matter what drivel they’ve been taught to get them that grade.
Something has to be done with the state of A Levels. Students need to be ready when they arrive at university, not six months after. The Government’s tinkering over the years has left our children unfit for the future. Emphasis is placed on the wrong things. And one size does not fit all, vocational qualifications have to be considered in the same light as a degree. Equipping the student for a future.