GCSEs 'anti-education'
This year's GCSE results out today
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Thursday, 21, Aug 2008 02:53
The GCSE system is anti-education, according to a Civitas report timed to coincide with the publication of exam results today.
Sixteen-year-olds up and down England and Wales received their GCSE results today, as the debate about vocational alternatives to the qualification continued to rage.
The Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) said of the 5,666,907 exams taken this year – down slightly from 5,827,319 last year – 6.8 per cent were awarded A*, a 0.2 point improvement on 2006-07.
20,7 per cent were awarded A or above, 1.2 points up from last year, while 65.7 per cent were A* to C.
The overall pass rate was 98.4 per cent.
Earlier this week the Conservatives obtained figures showing over a quarter of pupils did not obtain a single A* to C grade.
The Tories claim this reflects the government's failure to improve the schooling system. Labour says it has narrowed the gap between children from poorer and more affluent backgrounds.
Current plans for those not preferring the traditional academic route through to university are the introduction of diplomas, which will begin to be rolled out from this year.
These vocational qualifications, in subjects like health and social care, engineering and creative and media, will provide education at three levels – those not yet ready for GCSEs, those at GCSE level and those who want an alternative access route to university.
Not all are impressed by the proposals. Thinktank Civitas, publishing a new report on the government's plans today, says the "poor quality" qualifications are "locking both low-income pupils and vocational education into second-class status".
It pours scorn on the many successors to the GNVQ and says they undermine the value of those who are following orthodox GCSEs through the system.
Report author Anastasia de Waal commented: "What is particularly striking about the entire approach in the GCSE game is just how anti-education it is.
"The value of participating in a course is insignificant compared to the grade the pupil gains at the end of the course. That's why lower-performers are being encouraged to do pointless vocational courses."
Education foundation Edge disagrees. Its chief executive, Andy Powell, says young people should not feel railroaded towards A-levels and academia.
"There are many paths to success including vocational as well as academic options. Indeed 85 per cent of employers would encourage young people to take vocational qualifications," he said.
"While many young people will now go onto further academic study at A-level for others it may not be the right choice."
The results show the education gender gap to have widened since last year.
Provisional results from exam boards show girls outperformed boys as expected, but to a greater extent than 2006-07.
Overall, today's results have seen the biggest annual rise in students getting top grades for almost 20 years.
Previous GCSE exam results had shown male pupils to be catching up with their female classmates.
But 7.9 per cent of GCSEs taken by girls were awarded A* grades, compared to 5.7 per cent of boys.
23.5 per cent of exams taken by girls were awarded an A or above, while for boys the proportion was 17.9 per cent.
For girls the percentage represented an annual rise of 0.5 and 1.4 points respectively, compared to 0.3 and one for boys.
"It is very concerning that the gap between boys and girls appears to be widening again," said Liberal Democrat schools spokesperson Annette Brooke.
"This educational divide must be tackled."
The Conservatives are also concentrating on the decline in the number of pupils taking foreign languages.
"The fall in the number of children taking foreign languages is of concern, particularly as we know from last year's results that there is wide regional gap in those taking these exams," said shadow families minister Maria Miller.
"There are areas where fewer than one in four children are entered for a modern foreign language and it is the most disadvantaged families that are worst affected."