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Original poster

GCSE pass rate to drop by 23% in 2017

58 replies

noblegiraffe · 17/01/2016 11:26

Latest anaylsis suggests that the GCSE pass rate for the new GCSEs could drop by 23% to about 35%.
schoolsweek.co.uk/gcse-pass-rate-could-drop-23-under-new-reforms/

This is when the good pass rate is set at a '5' which is a high C/low B.

The government has fudged it by saying that a '4' will count as pass for entry to sixth form, so any student who gets a 4 will not need to resit maths and English post-16; they'll only be screwed in later years when they try to apply for jobs alongside those who did have to resit till they got a 5.

I know the new performance measures will be 'Progress 8', but I don't know whether schools will still be publishing their headline A*-C inc Maths and English figures and if so, whether it would be the 4 or 5 that counts. Anyone else know?

OP posts:
Original poster
noblegiraffe · 17/01/2016 15:59

This is the tip of a very doomy and gloomy iceberg, tbh.

OP posts:
decisionsdecisions123 · 17/01/2016 15:19

Its all doom and gloom.

Original poster
noblegiraffe · 17/01/2016 13:39

Schools are unlikely to switch to IGCSEs because they won't count in the league tables until they've been reformed to be comparable to the new GCSEs.

OP posts:
AbsoluteBeginners · 17/01/2016 13:36

Gcses, not gases...

AbsoluteBeginners · 17/01/2016 13:35

I have no idea.

How likely is it that schools might switch to igcses, which I think are immune to govt tinkering, or is that just as bad as new gases in that they are final exam grades?

Disclaimer: I'm just a confused y9 parent, and my DC will get some guidance in the next couple of weeks, but I know that their school currently offers a mix of igcses & gcse.

drivinmecrazy · 17/01/2016 13:15

It is very concerning. I have a very able yr10 DD who will be sitting the new grading exam. Luckily she is coping with the new ramped up maths curriculum. But I have a yr6 DD who is already struggling with the new expectations. I have just spent an hour helping her with her maths homework, which my DD1 took one look at and said 'no way!' Am hoping by the time DD2 sits her GCSEs they will have sorted it out (or more likely she will be hit by other changes) I foresee lots of heartache and struggles as she enters yr7, already having sleepless nights worrying how she will cope Sad

OhYouBadBadKitten · 17/01/2016 12:17

worrying, for many kids passing maths and English is already a real struggle.

Original poster
noblegiraffe · 17/01/2016 12:01

Further reading suggests it will be Maths and English 5-9 instead of A*-C.

So schools will be judged on the number of grade 5s. Wonder what that will do to floor targets.

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