Reforms to the 11–16 curriculum, assessment model and school performance measures introduced by the Government since 2010 have led to an education system which is heavily focused on academic learning. Schools have been incentivised to focus their resources on a narrow set of core subjects, meaning many pupils now have fewer opportunities to experience more practical, applied forms of learning, and to study creative, technical and vocational subjects. Many pupils are also not sufficiently developing essential literacy, numeracy and digital skills in this phase.
Pupils are now assessed purely by exams in many GCSE subjects. The current assessment model puts intense pressure on schools, teachers and pupils due to the high stakes attached to pupil performance during just a few weeks of written exams. The Government faces increasing calls to significantly reduce the number of exams pupils take at age 16 as part of a long-term programme of reform.
In its report, the Committee assesses proposals for long-term reform, while also setting out a package of measures that could be delivered in the shorter term. The Committee’s key recommendations include:
- The Government should reduce the amount of content in the 11–16 curriculum, particularly in GCSE subjects. A revised curriculum should enable schools to offer a more varied range of learning experiences, with the aim of promoting the development of a broader set of knowledge, skills and behaviours.
- It should ensure that there is an adequate set of literacy and numeracy qualifications available to pupils aged 14 to 16, focused on the application of these skills in real-world contexts, and create additional pathways to support the development of pupils’ digital skills through the creation of new qualifications.
- It should initiate a programme of reform aimed at reducing the volume and lowering the stakes of exams taken at age 16. In the shorter term, the exam burden could be eased by increasing the use of coursework or other forms of non-exam assessment in GCSE courses.
It must abandon the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) school performance measures, and review the other measures used in the 11–16 phase, to enable schools to promote a broader range of subjects to pupils at key stage 4.
