Critics of GCSE exams reveal a “misunderstanding” of the value of assessment, former education secretary Michael Gove has said.
The Levelling Up Secretary said the pandemic had led to a resurgence of “anti-rigour” arguments in education, and that “some of the arguments being put forward, such as suggesting an inadequacy of GCSEs, reflect a misunderstanding of the value of independent assessment”.
Mr Gove introduced new GCSE qualifications, first sat by pupils in 2017, that were graded between 9 to 1 and intended to be more academically rigorous.
Some of the arguments being put forward, such as suggesting an inadequacy of GCSEs, reflect a misunderstanding of the value of independent assessment
There have been increasing calls for GCSE reform during the pandemic, with a recent review of the GCSE system by the Independent Assessment Commission (IAC) warning that testing of pupils “should not be based around a fixed age of 16”.
The Commission said “arbitrary” testing of pupils at 16 should be scrapped, although GCSEs could remain part of the system.
Former education secretary Lord Kenneth Baker who helped introduce GCSEs, has supported campaign group Rethinking Assessment in calling for a review of the qualifications.
Mr Gove told the Edpol report, published by policy agency Public First, that the academisation programme he pursued as education secretary from 2010 to 2014 was a continuation of policies begun under former Labour prime minister Tony Blair
“Blair arrives in 1997 with his slightly performative rejection of autonomy, but with an emphasis on standards that one could recognise as required,” he said.
“And then at the beginning of the second Blair term you have a recognition that you need to have both (autonomy and accountability) to really push forward – and so we have the first academies.”
He added that under Gordon Brown there was a “deceleration… then we pick it all up again”.
“We injected more energy, but broadly it was that same programme,” he said.
Mr Gove said the Department for Education under his leadership had “made even more of an issue of the attainment gap” and that the Pupil Premium was introduced as a result “and will be a constant reminder of its importance”.
The Edpol report of nine interviews with former education secretaries who served from 1988 to 2019, also heard how Lord Baker wanted to introduce a longer school day but could not have “another fight” with teaching unions.
Lord Baker, who was education secretary from 1986 to 1989 under Margaret Thatcher, said he regretted not having brought in a longer day.
“I’d like to have done one more thing which I regret not doing,” he said.
“I wanted to extend the teaching day by one period because schools were then finishing at 3 or 3.30.”
“But I couldn’t do that because it would have meant renegotiating the teachers’ settlement. I just could not take on another battle and it would have been a big one – NUT general secretary Fred Jarvis was the trade union leader I dealt with and we couldn’t have another fight.”
In November last year, Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi pledged to look at lengthening the school day.
The idea was first suggested by former catch-up tsar Sir Kevan Collins prior to his resignation in June 2021.
