End dumbing-down exam board competition, MPs tell Ministers

It recommends stripping exam boards of their right to decide the content of examinations sat by pupils aged between 15 and 19.

The report, published today by the cross-party Education Select Committee, also warns that league tables can sometimes push schools to not act in the interests of their pupils and calls on the Government to reform the system with “the utmost urgency”.

The committee says measuring schools on the number of pupils who achieve five A* to C GCSEs, including English and maths, leads to schools focusing on students on the C/D borderline and “teaching to the test” to maximise exam success.

It calls for a more balanced scorecard to be created which encourages schools to focus on the progress made by every child.

The Government is considering creating one single national exam board to prevent “a race to the bottom” where market pressures and the demands on schools to improve pass rates pushes competing boards to offer easier versions of the same qualification.

Today’s report warns, however, that a single exam board would be disruptive and could lead to higher fees being charged.

Instead the committee calls for new national syllabuses to prevent boards bringing down the quality of exams as they fight for market share. These national syllabuses for GCSEs and A-levels would be accredited by Ofqual, the qualifications regulator.

The committee’s chairman Graham Stuart, the Conservative MP for Beverley and Holderness, said there was a need for change because of “grade inflation” in recent years, which he said had led to a loss of faith in the examination system.

He said: “There is a combination of better teaching, better prepared pupils, harder work, but also there has been a change on grade boundaries and on the content and accessibility of the curriculum and syllabus, and that is why we suggest change. The public, employers, universities all need to have their confidence restored.

“A move to national syllabuses can provide exactly that change without massive disruption to the system, retaining the diversity and dynamism of multiple exam boards but getting rid of the perverse incentives to lower standards over time.”

He said under the suggested reforms the exams regulator Ofqual would ensure exam boards did not compete by making papers easier and could readily identify problems and make statistical adjustments if needed.

The report also warns Ofqual that it must do more to improve its strength and effectiveness as a regulator. Mr Stuart said: “Ofqual must show that it is prepared to bear its teeth and take vigorous action when required. It must apply robust methods to regulate standards and should monitor changes in market share between exam boards more closely.”

The MPs recommendations come after Government plans to scrap GCSEs and replace them with “explicitly harder” O level exams and easier CSE qualifications for less able students were leaked two weeks ago.

Teaching unions and education experts claimed this would lead to a two-tier education system and could reduce social mobility but Education Secretary Michael Gove has since said he wants to move towards a one-tier set of high quality qualifications. Mr Stuart said: “The Government has refused to say what its exact plans are.

“The Secretary of State has said he will make no further decisions until he has seen our report, which does not look particularly at the qualifications that are sat. It looks at the way they are administered and the way that impacts on quality.

“We, like the Secretary of State, want to move to a system which is right for every child. We don’t want to see anybody turned into a loser at age 14, we want a system which brings out the best in everyone.”

The committee’s report will be considered by the Government over the next two months.

Comment: Page 10.