20 June | ||
Search ON THIS DAY by date | |||||||
|
|
1984: O-Levels to be replaced by GCSEs
O-Level and CSE exams are to be abolished and replaced by a new examination for 16 year olds, in the biggest exam shake-up for over 10 years.
Education Secretary Sir Keith Joseph said schools would begin teaching the General Certificate for Secondary Education, or GCSE, in autumn 1986, with the first pupils sitting the exam in 1988. The new system will put all children on the same scale on a range of seven grades from A to G. The 29 examination boards are to merge into five groups to reduce the large and complex system of assessment which currently operates. The groups will adhere to an agreed national standard to ensure that the same range of knowledge will be required to attain certain grades throughout the country.
"It will be more intelligible to users, better than O Levels, and better than CSE. "It will stretch the able more and stretch the average more." It was also more intelligible and therefore more useful for employers, he added. At the higher end of the range there will be scope for a new distinction certificate for those achieving consistently high grades, and in some subjects children will set their own standards and decide which grade to aim at. GSCEs will also place more emphasis on oral and practical skills where possible, the minister said. Teachers' unions welcomed the announcement. Fred Jarvis, of the National Union of Teachers, said: "This is one decision of Sir Keith's which will be applauded throughout the teaching profession".
|
|
Stories From 20 Jun
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
Search ON THIS DAY by date | |||||||
^^ back to top | |
Front Page | Years | Themes | Witness | |
©MMVIII | News Sources | Privacy & Cookies Policy |