PerpetualStudent wrote:
PettswoodFiona wrote:
Latest proposal being run the the educational flag pole (it is getting crowded up there!) is to give the topic of the question in advance to facilitate teaching only to that content. I appreciate the gesture but this would really be taking 'teaching to the test ' to the next level and can you imaging the soul destroying writing over and over again on the same subject to the exclusion of all others? It would be a game of who could memorise their essay rather than about skill.
I agree! DD would become completely disengaged. The prescriptive nature of the current system is already incredibly frustrating. Can you imagine how unprepared these kids would be for 6th form if they spent all their time only perfecting the tested topics?
DD currently has regular topic tests and is expecting mocks in late Jan/early Feb. She is taking all these very seriously so would be in reasonable shape for internal assessment, I suppose. I saw a recommendation that mocks done in a block should be avoided. Instead exams should be spaced out so few students would miss everything.
I quite liked the idea of doing later GCSEs but giving lots of optional questions.
I hope they are still able to run the exams. Unless they decide to cancel GCSEs for good and stick to applying to uni with known grades? Don’t know what they do about 6th form applications/apprenticeships then.
If they do opt for internal assessment do you think the powers that be have learnt from this year’s assessment debacle?
I think the best way would be to offer more options within the exam paper, as well, as that would deal with the problem of schools exercising their freedom to teach topics in any order logical to them, so to speak.
Or there's the Welsh option? Scrap GCSEs in May / June (/ July) and instead... have externally set and marked tests taken in the classroom instead of under complete exam conditions, earlier in the year...? I'm assuming that either there will be a lot of options in those papers, or that the Welsh Assembly does actually have the power to dictate the order of teaching of topics within the GCSE syllabus in Welsh schools.