Qualifications Quagmire
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20 / 03 / 2008 | Author: dnorris
A quagmire of qualifications
‘O’ Levels and ’A’ Levels were once the backbone of the English educational system.
Not so long ago it was quite normal for a pupil to take 5 or 6 ‘O’ Levels together with a range of other courses that were not examined. Not any more. More is better is now the mantra and with each successive fashion comes another subject to be added to the basket of studies.
No longer is it enough to have Maths and English alongside a trio of subjects which take your fancy. No, Science is the new god; Languages the passport to trade; History the guide to wisdom gleaned from past mistakes; Religion needs to be incorporated to create peaceful worldwide coexistence. Add to that list IT because it is the universal language of communication. Then you need cookery, citizenship, music, drama, sex education and sport. Suddenly the week is just not long enough.
It is all part of a belief that by definition 12 GCSE’s must be better than 6, and so the relentless pursuit of qualifications goes on, mixed in with a tacit belief that the examinations themselves are getting easier.
Some institutions are beginning to say that enough is enough...literally.
Admissions tutors at Oxford and Cambridge say that they are only interested in applicants having up to 8 GCSE’s. The head of Eton College has advocated cutting the number down to 5 or 6 and Bedale Independent School has capped its subjects to 5.
However, if you think that a bout of clear thinking is sweeping the corridors of education, then think again. One tier up from the jungle of GCSE’s there is a fog surrounding just what it is that constitutes a good school education.
‘A’ levels still exist, as the staple diet of a 6th form. They are spread over 70 subjects and are taken by over 250000 students each year but not in their original format. Now the first year is counted as an AS qualification and an AS2 qualification or ‘A’ level at the end of the 2nd year.
Starting in September 2008 a new generation of Vocational “Specialist Diplomas” will become available. They aim to replace GCSE’s and will be called foundation diplomas. These are for students aged 14 – 16. There will also be a replacement for “A” levels. This will be called the Higher Diploma and will be the equivalent of seven GCSE’s at good grades. The first five subjects will be in engineering, construction, IT, media and health. and these will grow to 17 subjects in the next five years.
Also being introduced as a rival to ‘A’ level exams is the new Pre-U diploma. It is accredited by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority and originates from the University of Cambridge International Examinations board. This is targeted at the brightest students. It has already being tested in 30 schools and with 1000 pupils.
Another breakaway movement has resulted in a greater take-up of the International Baccalaureate. Over 100 schools in England have joined the 32000 students in over 100 countries world wide who now study for it. This qualification is set by a Swiss examinations board and is now considered to be more rigorous than other qualifications. Students sit six subjects, three at standard level and three at a higher level. The curriculum is spread over two years. Top achievers consider their marks to be the equivalent of six A grades and an AS level.
All of this is very paradoxical because the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority was tasked with clearing up the jungle of qualifications that has existed in the secondary sector for a long time.
From a teachers point of view it makes for a very complicated set of expectations that schools can be looking for at interview.
