Schools: GCSE English grading issues
This note provides a brief summary of the key events surrounding the issue of the GCSE results in English for students, following the publication of results on 23 August 2012.
On 31 August, the regulator Ofqual produced an interim report which found that the “issue is the January, not the June grade boundaries”. Ofqual added that “revisiting the June grade boundaries would contradict our responsibility to maintain standards over time and make sure results are comparable year-on-year” although the regulator did offer early re-sits in November 2012.
In response, it is reported that teachers’ unions are preparing legal action with the aim of quashing the relevant June results.
As well as offering early re-sits in November 2012, the Welsh Government has ordered the WJEC to regrade the GCSE English results for pupils in Wales. This could mean that the same work could attract a higher grade in Wales than it would in England.
On 17 September, the Secretary of State for Education, Michael Gove, announced changes to the GCSE examinations, with core academic subjects being examined through an English Baccalaureate; the new approach would begin in September 2015, with the first results in 2017.