Stephanie Smith: ‘Back to basics’ means back to how we did it

Pity the teens spending half-term knee-deep in revision notes, preparing for the current round of GCSE and A-level exams. No sunshine and showers for them – just slog, slog, slog.

Not so my son, mind you. Yes, there are some GCSE modules coming up. Yes, they are ones that count towards the final grade, but … later. Anyway, as he points out, he does well in the big exams, for which he revises, so what does it matter?

I find it hard to blame him, because I operated in much the same way at school. But this was back in the day, before modules and course work were invented. It worked to my benefit.

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If you want to test a child’s ability to idle about for two years, then cram massively, keep all the information and little exam tricks in the head so they can be regurgitated in a format efficient and pleasing enough to secure a decent grade in a test (and then forget it all within 24 hours), well, the end-of-course exam system is for you, my child.

Education Secretary Michael Gove wants a return to these good-old days, when the emphasis was on the final exam. It’s a system that presumably worked well for many of those in Government, which perhaps explains why they believe it tested them rigorously and equipped them suitably for the world at large.

This so-called “back to basics” approach is good news for the chaps, it seems, but less so for the girls, with fears from teaching unions that returning to one memory-based final exam – planned for courses starting in 2015 – could see their GCSE results go down. Girls have outperformed boys ever since the GCSE exam – with its accent on coursework – was introduced in 1988. Under the previous system of O-levels, boys overall outperformed girls.

It’s thought that girls feel less confident in exams. Perhaps, but what is certain is that memory-based final exams favour confident and efficient exam-takers, while discriminating against those with different abilities – arguably more admirable, useful and long-lasting abilities, including perseverance, consistency and a willingness to learn and develop, guided by teachers.

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Those who say they want to go “back to basics” really mean they want to go back to the way they did it. What this country needs, they believe, is more people just like them, those who had much the same education and now talk much the same (limited) language.

Sadly, my son will not benefit from the revised exam system, but hopefully his ability to cram and regurgitate will be rewarded at A-level. After university, 
it might have to be a career 
in politics. I’m not sure he will be equipped to do anything else.

Twitter: @yorkshirefashQ