Kenneth Baker article about maths GCSEs

[Sadik]

In the FT today (I got to it via FB, hopefully it isn't paywalled if you go direct). Basically saying that the new maths GCSE isn't fit for purpose for anyone other than high achievers, and that it needs to be split into 'core maths' ie numeracy and 'further maths'.

No mention I notice though of the fact that the Welsh government has done exactly that - dd has just sat 2 GCSEs, one in "Mathematics - numeracy," and one in "Mathematics".

It was recommended to Michael Gove in Carol Vorderman’s report into maths education. But Michael Gove was a complete dick and wouldn’t do it because there was an ongoing pilot into a double maths GCSE that started under Labour.

Wales actually took note of the report and implemented its recommendations.

How does that work for kids taking 'regular' math GCSE & further M? (trying not to brag, honest... just, is there supposed to be a FM and a FFM?)

I'm not sure if there is a 'further maths' GCSE any more in Wales, lljkk.

Though I don't see why there couldn't be - though the overall content of the 2 GCSEs is higher I think than for the single GCSE it replaced, maths teaching time seems to have been increased to take account of this, at least in dd's school.

So I guess the pupils who would take FM are likely to have extra time within the curriculum just as higher achieving pupils do within the single GCSE system.

I think part of the reasoning might have been not just to provide a better option for lower achieving pupils (there's also 3 tiers rather than 2 for both exams) but also to prepare better for A level??

Yep, with the reintroduction of intermediate tier, the higher tier paper can now be a thorough examination of the more difficult content.

Binning the intermediate tier was a terrible idea that caused the need for further maths GCSE in the first place, to bridge the gap to A-level.

Also, always been the case in Scotland : two discrete subjects of Mathematics and arithmetic. Many students do both; less able just do arithmetic (or did in my day : to my bafflement , I did better in the harder maths than the easy arithmetic!)

DD says one of her friends was very disgruntled to have passed the 'wrong' exam (they only have to get C in numeracy to avoid having to retake in 6th form)

@Noblegiraffe Is there a possibility of the reintroduction of the intermediate tier?

God knows. The new Foundation paper is more like the level of the old Intermediate paper so it could be argued we need to add a paper at the bottom now rather than in the middle. The Edexcel papers this year were easier than last year so they’re still fiddling with the difficulty of the new spec, who knows what it will be like next year.
I think what is needed most is for structures to be left alone for a few years to see how it pans out. Schools took up further/add maths to make up for the crap higher paper before, now they will be looking at entry level qualifications to shore up the bottom end.

problem for standard comps is the teaching of further maths. At ds's school (london normal comp) it was an optional extra after school and they had a handful of lessons (like 4 or 5) and are sitting the exam today so probably won't do it justice.

I thought there was still a Foundation level and a Higher level in the GCSEs this year?

I knew nothing about a two tier system, but having jsut looked it up, surely thats what the new GCSE two tier system addresses. The Foundation and the Higher? I am so confused. We do IGCSE at DD school, and having looked it up, I now see we get two tiers as well. I think perhaps I didn't know about the two tiers as we only do the higher ??

For me the issue is around students who are somewhere in the middle range of ability. Do they take the foundation paper which has a maximum potential of a 5? It just seems very limiting to do this. On the other hand if they take the higher paper with the potential to get a higher mark they will possibly struggle with at least 50% of it which is very disheartening and also a risk.

GfordMum the difference in the Welsh system is that as well as having two separate exams, each of those exams has three tiers, not two - to cover the middle range of ability as BackInTime says.

The foundation tier is highest grade D (still letter grades here), intermediate highest grade is a B, then higher covers grades A*-C.

Mind you it doesn't mean there still isn't angst about which paper to sit!