Summary
In the
summer of 2017 pupils in England will take the new GCSEs, this week the new
GCSEs will be presented and there will be some major changes. The exams will
get more difficult and the whole structure will change for the core subjects
like English, mathematics and literature. The major changes are:
·
Students
will be graded 8-1 instead of A-G.
·
No
more modular courses(science experiments are an exception), there will be exams
taken at the end of two years.
·
Exams
will be more essay-based.
·
Passing
grade will be pushed higher.
A major
change for literature is that pupils will have to read a 19th
century novel and a full play written by William Shakespeare.
My Opinion
I partially
agree with the changes and I think it is a good thing that the passing grade is
pushed higher, this will eventually result in more competent pupils. Despite
all the positives I think it is a bad idea to throw away the modular
courses, with the new system pupils will
have to work towards exams for two years long, a very long time. Also the full
play by William Shakespeare is in my opinion not necessary for the GCSEs, I
agree that he is very important to English literature but I do not think it is
a good idea to have pupils read a full play.
Bibliography
Coughlan, S. (2013, June
11). GCSEs: New-look tougher exams revealed. Retrieved June 11, 2013,
from BBC News: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-22841266
Of course there are opponents and proponents of this matter. What I do think is great, is that questions will require more essay-based answers. This way, students will be pushed to think beyond standard theory. A downside of this will be the checking of the exams, requiring more attention of the teachers.
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