We believe the current forms of assessment for the English Language and English Literature GCSE are unfair, unsuitable and need reform. We believe reforms could make the GCSEs more accessible for all and better prepare students to be critical thinkers able to tackle further study in the subject.
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We believe current exams for the English Language GCSE have too many questions. This can result in students racing to give answers rather than demonstrating their skills for deep analysis of texts and their ability to form clear, coherent arguments.
Students aren't allowed copies of the texts they are being assessed on in Literature GCSE exams. This means exams in a large part are testing memory, rather than examining the student's ability to form considered, critical arguments.
Furthermore, we believe the current exam-only assessments do not prepare students for further study in English, as students are not given enough opportunity to consider their argument and plan multiple interpretations as is expected at A-level, degree level and beyond.