There has been a substantial amount of speculation about the difficulty of exams and the present intelligence of pupils and students in our country. Following this, Michael Gove has attempted to revert the curriculum to the 'better days' of end-of-year exam based assessments and removing coursework from GCSE exams. But what does this mean for students now? And what does it mean for those of us who have completed the programme in the 2000s with coursework and multiple exams in summer and winter?
I have major concerns about the priorities of young people in the modern era and I believe that TV, video gaming and other distractions are causing not necessarily a drop in intelligence but a loss of desire to learn. A combination of this and the removal of 200 libraries in 2012 would imply a very bleak future for academia. I mean, how many people are really going to bother going to university in the next few years when the fees are so high and the prospects of work are so low? Pupils may as well leave school after GCSEs and find work or apprenticeships... But if this happens, where will the next generation of politicians, managers and teachers come from? The only outcome I can see from Gove's proposals is the disenchantment of students who either fail or simply learn to detest academic life.
One of the main problems is the removal of coursework. I understand the usefulness of exams in showing sharpness of mind in timed conditions, but coursework has always been a display of deeper contemplation of topic and considered written style. Removing this takes away a substantial element of developing young people's intellects. If there was ever a change to be made to coursework in schools, it should be that at least one piece is written by hand (Yes, it's tedious. I had to do my Dickens coursework by hand, but it meant that the work was more easily identified as my own research and ideas). Yes, coursework is potentially a hot-bed for plagiarism (but there are checks for this) and overly-supportive teachers, but there are ways of remedying this through restrictions on time and staff involvement. I love writing coursework. It's one of my favourite things of being a student at University, as it allows me to do my own research and create something exciting. After my A-Levels, I know how crucial it can be (AQA gave me a B in my AS English exam TWICE. After requesting my scripts back, they were passed around the entire college department and nothing was allegedly wrong with them. The second time I requested my scripts there were comments like: "Not enough knowledge of the text" which would have been fine if it wasn't the UNSEEN EXTRACT PAPER!!!! If it wasn't for my coursework, I probably would have lost my university place.)
Another problem I have with the "easy exam" theory is: What does that make ME? I passed my GCSEs in 2009 and my A Levels in 2011. If exams were "easier" then, what does that mean for my own intelligence? I was one of the top in my class for most of my subjects (Not bragging about anything but how hard I work) but now I feel as though I shouldn't have received 6 A*s and 4 As at GCSE or my A*AABB at A Level! Am I part of the generation of "coasters" who had an easy time of it at school? Or was all my hard work justified? I wouldn't want to find out now that I'm actually fairly stupid and in need of further education...
So I guess I want to know what you think of Gove's plans. Do you think your exams are/were easy? Do you think the reforms are necessary or just? Or do you think we just need to add more variety to the curriculum (texts/theories/eras/practices/etc.)?
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