Ofsted chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw has criticised the government
plans for exam reforms. Sir Michael Wilshaw announced he is against radical
reforms that would see less able pupils sit simpler qualifications or take
papers later on. Instead he said the government should ensure that existing
GCSEs are stretching for all students, said Sir Michael Wilshaw.
In an interview with the Financial Times, he indicated that he is in
favour of a single exam system for all teenagers.
"The examination system that we have has got to be ruthless and
stretching all pupils," he said.
He told the newspaper that it is possible to do this "within the
existing system."
His comments are at odds with proposals being considered by the
government to overhaul England's exams.
Under plans leaked last month, GCSEs would be scrapped with pupils
sitting "explicitly harder" O-level style exams in traditional
academic subjects such as English, maths, history, modern languages and
science. It was suggested that less able pupils would take easier old-style CSE
qualifications.
Education Secretary Michael Gove later said that he would like to see
all students sit the O-level style exams at some point in their school career,
with some taking them later than at age 16.
Asked directly by the Financial Times if he would support either of
these proposals, Sir Michael said that he did not. He appeared to suggest that
pupils should be able to take an exam again if they did not get a good grade
the first time.
"If a youngster gets a D or an E, we say that youngster is going to
be very closely tracked.
"Come back and do it again... a good school... tracks the youngster
through until they do achieve," he said.
Proposals to bring back O-level and CSE style exams were met with a wave
of protest from teaching unions and education experts, as well as exposing deep
divisions within the coalition.
A Department for Education spokesman said:
"We will be announcing our plans for exam reform in due course. But
the current system already means that a large proportion of pupils take a
version of the GCSE which means they are barred from getting anything higher
than a C grade. We urgently need to raise standards for all pupils. GCSE is
simply not up to that job anymore - as this month's report from the Commons
Education Select Committee proved."
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