In the U.K., the age that we finish high school is 16 in Year 11, but before we do that, we have a bunch of exams that test us in our knowledge of every subject that we are studying. Sometimes this can be up to 20 exams between 5 to 6 weeks, usually starting in May. These exams give us our first set of qualifications that are internationally recognized (our GCSEs), and starting in the 2017-18 academic year, they’re changing for the worse.
I’ll be the last cohort taking the “old GCSEs”. I used to think that they were unbelievably hard, but after comparing them to “new GCSEs”, I realized how lucky I am. The new GCSEs even have a whole new way of grading. Instead of the well-known A*-U that has definite grade boundaries, students this time next year will be getting results with the numbers 9-1 with some numbers overlapping with each other if you compare it to the old grade system, the only grade system that has been used.
I haven’t gotten away with not doing some of the new GCSEs. My classmates and I, along with Year 11s all around the country, will be taking the new GCSEs for English and Maths (which are vital to doing anything like go to college, get an apprenticeship or get a job) because they are being introduced in summer 2017 and to say I’m stressed is an understatement.
There are way more exams. I talked to my cousin, who is a year younger than me and will be talking all of the new GCSE exams, and she’s already feeling the stress that you should be really only be feeling a couple months before the exam period begins. Roughly, languages will have 4 exams, humanities will have 4 exams, mathematics will have 3 exams, English will have 4 exams, science will have 6 or 9 exams (depending on the course) and that’s just the tip of the iceberg, with many more subjects being studied like ICT or drama. There are more exams because of less coursework and controlled assessments. Controlled assessments and coursework are like projects and work that you can complete, at your own pace but there is a definitive due date. They both contribute to your final grade. These are being either cut out completely or hardly being used at all. This means your final grade that you receive is resting more on those exams that you take at the end of the whole two years. This is my cousin’s biggest worry:
“I can cope with the material I have to learn, it’s just how exam-based it is. I have really bad exam anxiety and then I worry in the exam about messing up the exam and then that worry causes me to mess up that exam which could mess up my life and future.”
Coursework and controlled assessments working hand in hand with exams is a perfect way for people who do better in one or the other to get the grade that they can achieve. The new curriculum only appeals to people who are “good at exams”. These new exams are also growing ridiculously more challenging. Basically, you probably have to memorize a bunch of quotes from Shakespeare, a 19th century author’s book (like Dickens), a modern play, many poems from an anthology, a bunch of formulas because they aren’t given to you anymore, a bunch of vocabulary of a language you’re probably not fluent in, as well as so much more extra content passed down from A-levels (the qualifications you need to get into university). But it’s not just the people taking the exams who are going to be affected by this. These new exams will make it difficult for employers and universities to compare candidates in the next few years. It seems these exams don’t benefit many.
These reforms to exams will have to change the way we learn and it will disturb the flow that both schools and students have. But are these exams worth it or to they just invoke more stress into students rather than teach us, which is what schools are meant to do? Tests and exams have overshadowed what school is really about- learning new things, being inspired and enjoying it.
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