Private schools and GCSE'S

[Guest55]

The changes with GCSE were nothing to do with iGCEs - as has been stated the old iGCSEs were easier to pass than GCSEs.

What is more of a worry to me is that we can't compare the two sectors at all at GCSE. There is no measure of progress from KS2 to KS4 for Private schools ....

[stroudydad]

Yes, some private schools may be sticking with IGCSEs - I understand that many of them moved to those in science originally as they were more challenging. But many of them are doing a mix of both. And why would a school that has the choice make significant and disruptive change to something that is as yet untested, unproven and causing so much angst anyway?

But even if the private cohort achieve A or A*, and the state cohort achieve more 6's and 7's than 8's or 9's, the university system will see the stats of percentages gaining each grade, will be able to differentiate between letters and numbers, and make their offers accordingly.

It is a period of change, but periods of change have occured before when the private schools switched to what was then perceived as the 'harder' options of IGCSE.

I think you could drive yourself mad expending much energy in thinking that state will be disadvantaged by this vs private.

Spoken like true indie parent...

[Amber]

There was a letter in yesterday’s Times from Cambridge exam board saying iGCSE are equivalent to GCSE, and in some cases the iGCSE have been used as a model for the new GCSE. The advantage is no change this year. I was under the impression they were moderated in the same way as moderation occurs between the exam boards. By Ofqual?

Cambridge exam board is responsible for most (all?) of the iGCSEs in the country, so their stance on the matter is hardly shocking. On the wider point, every teacher knows (even secretly) that some boards are easier for some subjects than others. Sure there is moderation, but...Well, similar to the thread I just started on universities I think, just less overt or pronounced.

Re the role of OFQUAL - well yes and no. From the Cambridge website:

All 70 Cambridge IGCSE subjects are available to independent schools in the UK. Many Cambridge IGCSE syllabuses are also regulated by Ofqual and these syllabuses are funded for teaching in state schools in England.

[Yamin151]

There was a letter in yesterday’s Times from Cambridge exam board saying iGCSE are equivalent to GCSE, and in some cases the iGCSE have been used as a model for the new GCSE. The advantage is no change this year. I was under the impression they were moderated in the same way as moderation occurs between the exam boards. By Ofqual?

Cambridge exam board is responsible for most (all?) of the iGCSEs in the country, so their stance on the matter is hardly shocking. On the wider point, every teacher knows (even secretly) that some boards are easier for some subjects than others. Sure there is moderation, but...Well, similar to the thread I just started on universities I think, just less overt or pronounced.

Re the role of OFQUAL - well yes and no. From the Cambridge website:

All 70 Cambridge IGCSE subjects are available to independent schools in the UK. Many Cambridge IGCSE syllabuses are also regulated by Ofqual and these syllabuses are funded for teaching in state schools in England.

The biggest online school in the country, with 300 GCSE students this year, (I know small fry- but still) is using Pearson Edexcel not Cambridge, and judging by the placing on any IGCSE list we look at, I think a large minority must be Edexcel too.

[Daogroupie]

I encounter IGCSE Edxcel far more frequently than Cambridge.

It would be interesting to hear from parents on here which board their schools use. DG

[stroudydad]

I encounter IGCSE Edxcel far more frequently than Cambridge.

It would be interesting to hear from parents on here which board their schools use. DG

Perhaps missing the point that not all IGCSE are available to state schools and moderated as such..?!

[Daogroupie]

This was a response to a comment about which IGCSE board is being used by those who use IGCSEs.

I work closely with IGCSEs so I do appreciate how they work. DG

[Guest55]

DG - so I assume you understand the differences between which courses are allowed to be used for the DfE performance tables?

[Angelcake]

A quick count up from DS's options booklet gives 9 GCSEs (4*AQA, inc Eng Lang, 2*OCR, 1 each Edexcel, WJEC and Cambridge) but that includes all the practical subjects, and 12 iGCSEs (8*Edexcel, inc maths, all Sci and MFL, and 4*Cambridge, inc Eng Lit). Maths is the only one I am at all able to compare and, with the exception of the inclusion of calculus in the iGCSE, the specs only differ in minor details. On the basis of old questions, I'd say the iGCSE had more complicated traditional questions but haven't seen a new style paper. Edexcel claim their two are of an equivalent standard.

[Loopyloulou]

Private schools never bothered much with iGCSEs until coursework became a major component of the ordinary GCSE marking system. This was judged to be a "bad thing", so iGCSEs came to be preferred over GCSEs, especially in coursework-heavy subjects. Some canny indies then realised, if the truth be told, that whilst iGCSEs were more difficult than GCSEs in coursework-heavy subjects some iGCSE arts subjects, particularly English Language & Literature, being designed for non natives, were easier than their GCSE equivalents. Thus a wider shift toward iGCSEs ensued. The examination boards meanwhile tried to limit the discrepancy in standards between the two, an impossible task given that one had coursework and the other did not.
Now that the importance of coursework has receded once again, one wonders whether iGCSEs will also wither on the vine.