Are our Schools Becoming too Exam Focused?
It’s GCSE results day, and around the country, thousands of pupils will be anxiously awaiting their results which could shape the next few years of their life. There is more pressure now than ever before, as all students are required to achieve a grade C or above in both maths and English, meaning those who don’t will be forced to re-sit their exams.
This increasing pressure surrounding GCSE examinations, combined with the potential new tests for seven-year-olds, suggests that as a nation we are becoming progressively more exam-obsessed. Students are increasingly seen as cogs in a machine for meeting government targets and world standards rather than focusing on their individual development.
Can this pressure really be good for pupil health and wellbeing? Recent studies suggest not.
In fact, the National Union of Teachers’ (NUT) report on tests suggested that this increasing focus on examinations and results in England can have a severe impact on the mental health of pupils, as increasing pressure to perform well proves too much for some students. Failure in examinations can be detrimental to self-esteem and can affect the well-being of pupils, as they feel increasingly defined by their results rather than their individual merits.
Furthermore, the report suggests that an increased focus on exams can damage teacher-pupil relationships as teachers are pressured with targets and Ofsted inspections, leading them to overlook individual pupil needs. The report reveals that businesses and employers are worried about this trend, as the focus on exams and cramming information will prevent pupils developing the skills to become all-round personalities that can deal with real life situations. NUT have even gone as far as to suggest that schools are turning into ‘exam factories’.
Another recent study has also suggested that events or factors on the day of a student’s exam, outside of their control, can not only the affect the result of the exam but also their employability and earnings in later life. The damage of this can be severe, as the high stakes of certain exams mean that failure could have effects on society and the economy in general.
Despite these studies and concerns, the government is continuing to reform our exam system to meet world standards and push pupils to their limits. Perhaps the most unpopular reform in recent years was Michael Gove’s decision to completely change the GCSE grading system from letters to numbers of 9–1, with 9 representing the highest mark. It might seem like an insignificant change, but the reality is that it will complicate the results system for pupils, universities and employers as they try to compare the new system against the old. It will also see the ‘good pass’ grade C replaced by grade 5 which is more equal to a high C/low B, bringing the standard of ‘good pass’ to a higher level.
This change in grading simply puts more pressure on pupils to perform well in exams before they even go into A-Levels, and it isn’t only final exams that bring in the pressure; from the ages of 14 to 16 pupils are being constantly graded with mock examinations, coursework and practical examinations. This has even led to some calling for GCSEs to be completely dropped so teachers can instead focus on individual pupil performance and better prepare them for A-Levels.
Finland provides an excellent example of an education system that focuses on the individual and still produces outstanding results. Finland is constantly ranked highly in the PISA rankings, and their secret is a high-standard of teaching combined with the aim of providing equality in education no matter what the social background of the pupil. They minimise the testing of pupils in favour of supporting the individual learning needs of the students, and they put extra emphasis on developing well-rounded young people who are prepared for life after education in an increasingly technology-advanced world.
There is no doubt that the increasing pressure on pupils and teachers alike, particularly at GCSE, is putting England’s schools in a dangerous position. Instead of pushing grade boundaries up and increasing the number of standardised tests, we should be encouraging individual growth and provide a well-rounded education for pupils that prepares them for the real world. It is unfair that in this day and age so much of a young person’s future is staked on their performance during a few days of their many years in education.
Pupils of all abilities can falter in exams, often due to factors outside of their control. We need to develop an assessment structure that fairly recognises pupil progress, and recognises the varying merits of each pupil. Perhaps Finland’s policy of greater autonomy to schools and teachers in the assessment of their pupils could be beneficial, as it relieves the pressure of government targets and could help the personal development of students. The benefits could be significant, and a different focus would provide our society and economy with well-rounded and confident young people.
