Teachers warn of ‘deep-seated’ problems with GCSE assessments

Moves to scrap traditional coursework and replace it with so-called “controlled assessment” have led to a “narrowing” of teaching with less time for learning, a report by the exams regulator Ofqual found.

One in eight (12 per cent) teachers believe the new system should be axed, and coursework brought back, it reveals.

Some teachers warned that controlled assessment had led to students preparing for oral foreign language exams in silence, and tested students’ memories rather than their knowledge.

Controlled assessment was brought in two years ago to address concerns about plagiarism and cheating. Under the system, pupils do not complete coursework at home, but while supervised in the classroom.

Ofqual’s major new report, based on a survey and interviews with teachers, school leaders and unions looks at the impact of the reforms.

The findings showed that two-fifths (41 per cent) of teachers said controlled assessment had been difficult to implement in their school, with French, geography and history teachers more likely to report problems.

One in five teachers (19 per cent) said the introduction of controlled assessment had led to less time available for teaching and learning.

A quarter of French teachers (28 per cent) along with similar proportions of geography and history teachers (each 24 per cent) considered this to be the biggest problem with controlled assessment.

The report said that teachers felt the need to schedule time for assessments throughout GCSE courses, and the amount of time taken up on them had “meant a narrowing of teaching, and fewer opportunities for activities such as off-site trips that deepen students’ understanding and interest.”

It added that controlled assessment was “considered to be unfit for purpose” for modern languages by many of those interviewed.

French teachers consistently gave the system poorer ratings than teachers of other subjects, and some of the interviewees said controlled assessment tested memories rather than knowledge.