Evolution not revolution
Michael McKernan contrasts the steady local approach to GCSE reform with Michael Gove’s radical changes.
An interesting backdrop to the ongoing development of education policy in Northern Ireland is the differing perspective between the Education Minister here, John O’Dowd, and UK Education Secretary Michael Gove when it comes to matters of curriculum and examinations.
In London Michael Gove, rightly or wrongly, is a man on a mission. He believes that there has been excessive grade inflation even ‘dumbing down’ of exams and courses and is determined to reverse this trend. He has concluded that, in particular, A-level and GCSE qualifications can be obtained too easily, at generous grades, by dint of coursework as opposed to more rigorous examination. He has decided that qualifications are going to be reformed radically and that they will have to be obtained overwhelmingly by examination.
Minister John O’Dowd, contrastingly, and along with many other educationalists, takes the view that talk of ‘grade inflation’ and ‘dumbing-down’ does a great disservice to the work, effort and achievement of young people. On the coursework versus examination issue, he has pointed out that examination can often be little more than a test of memory rather than the understanding that comes with continuous controlled assessment.
In any event, following something of a public skirmish between the two ministers in 2012, Minister O’Dowd commissioned Northern Ireland’s Council for Curriculum Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) to carry out a fundamental review of GCSEs and A-levels. He asked CCEA to “consider what changes should be made to ensure a set of robust and portable qualifications are developed.” He also added that the changes should result in qualifications which “had the confidence of learners, educational institutions and employers across these islands and beyond.”
The Minister published the CCEA report at the end of last month, and to the surprise of some, although it made 49 recommendations and suggested many changes, no radical reform was proposed. As John O’Dowd summed it up: “Crucially, it states that there is no case for replacing A-levels or GCSEs although it does acknowledge the need to embark now on a long-term vision for learning and qualifications.”
The Department of Education will now proceed to consult on the various CCEA proposals before starting to implement a programme of work around qualifications development.
It is now clear that in the years ahead, there will be something of a parting of the ways between the standard school qualifications as they evolve slowly in Northern Ireland, and those which are going to be ‘toughened up’ in England. Some commentators have expressed concern that there is a danger, over a period of time, of the Northern Ireland qualifications becoming less portable and less valued than their mainstream UK equivalents, particularly in the eyes of employers. O’Dowd dismisses this argument, however, and points to Scotland, for example, as a jurisdiction which has gone its own way with school qualifications over time, and whose qualifications are actually rated more highly than their broad UK equivalents.
All of this comes at a time when some of the traditional gaps between educational outcomes in Northern Ireland and England, overall, show signs of closing. Last month, agendaNi reported that the gap between Northern Irish and English A-level attainment at grades A and A* (where Northern Ireland traditionally does significantly better) had closed substantially. This was primarily because Northern Ireland performance had slipped back on average. An analysis of similar A and A* grades attainment at GCSE level shows also a trend of England slowly closing the gap although Northern Ireland has not so much slipped back as levelled off in performance.
It is certainly too early to be extrapolating trends of difference between Northern Ireland’s mainstream qualifications and examination performance and that of England and Wales. For now the Northern Ireland Minister, whatever his colleague in London may be doing, is content with evolution rather than revolution.
