Exam Reform

Lord Field of Birkenhead Excerpts

Monday 17th September 2012 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

I was talking this morning to the head teacher of Burlington Danes academy, Sally Coates—[Interruption.] She is embracing these reforms, as most enlightened head teachers are, and I suggest that the hon. Member for Liverpool, West Derby (Stephen Twigg) have a word with her before it is too late and his position leaves him even more exposed in the educational world. The point she made to me is that, contrary to my hon. Friend’s suggestion, coursework and controlled assessment often work to the benefit of middle-class students, whose parents can better support them, and actually the form of examinations we are putting forward is better designed to support students from poorer backgrounds to show what they can do, rather than simply to show what their parents have achieved.

[Mr Frank Field (Birkenhead) (Lab)]

Would parents be correct in drawing from the Secretary of State’s statement that he will ensure that the weakest students are helped so that they enter a single exam and that he will not tolerate a second-tier exam for those weaker students? Although parents will be relieved that students are not asked any more to complete coursework, does he not accept that some coursework does enable students to manage their time better and to improve their skills? Should that not be reflected in his new system?

[Michael Gove]

The right hon. Gentleman makes two very important points. On the first, we are perfectly clear that we are moving towards a single-tier system and away from a split, two-tier system. One of the points that the Opposition Front-Bench team have refused to engage with or acknowledge is that we have a two-tier system now, with foundation and higher-tier examinations at GCSE which force students who enter the foundation tier to accept a cap on aspiration. It is a disgraceful situation, which was never addressed when they were in office.

On the second point, which the right hon. Gentleman rightly makes, about the importance of coursework and controlled assessment, I would say, as I said in response to the hon. Member for North Cornwall (Dan Rogerson), that there are specific subjects outside the existing English baccalaureate, such as art and design or design and technology, in which students can demonstrate practical skills effectively through work that is not examined during a time-limited examination period. However, there are real problems with coursework and controlled assessment in core academic subjects.