ASCL General Secretary Geoff Barton is calling for a more humane qualification system as the number of pupils achieving a Grade 4 ‘standard pass’ in GCSE English and maths is expected to fall tomorrow (Thursday) consigning many more young people to a demoralising cycle of retakes in post-16 education.
Grading standards are being adjusted this year in England with the intention that they broadly reflect the grade distribution of 2019 as part of a return to normal following the disruption to public exams during the pandemic.
In 2019, more than a third of secondary pupils – 35.4% – fell short of at least a Grade 4 in English and maths. During the pandemic, this figure fell to 27.8% in 2021 because a different approach to grading was used following the decision to cancel public exams. Last year, when grades were set at a midpoint between 2021 and 2019 the proportion who missed out stood at 31.2%.
Many students who do not achieve the benchmark of a Grade 4 in these subjects have to keep retaking them during post-16 education under the government’s ‘condition of funding’ rules – but most do not achieve Grade 4 at this point either. Last year, only 29.7% of 16–18-year-old students passed this threshold in English and just 18.2% in maths.
In 2019, more than a third of secondary pupils – 35.4% – fell short of at least a Grade 4 in English and maths. During the pandemic, this figure fell to 27.8% in 2021 because a different approach to grading was used following the decision to cancel public exams. Last year, when grades were set at a midpoint between 2021 and 2019 the proportion who missed out stood at 31.2%.
Many students who do not achieve the benchmark of a Grade 4 in these subjects have to keep retaking them during post-16 education under the government’s ‘condition of funding’ rules – but most do not achieve Grade 4 at this point either. Last year, only 29.7% of 16–18-year-old students passed this threshold in English and just 18.2% in maths.
