EDSK: Replace GCSEs with ‘digital SATs’ for 14-year-olds and launch a new Baccalaureate

EDSK launch Evolution and revolution report recommending SATs and GCSEs should be scrapped in favour of regular online tests from ages 5-14 along with a new four-year ‘Baccalaureate’ for 14 to 18-year-olds.

EDSK calls on whoever wins the next election to embark on a 10-year plan to reform primary and secondary education

With the Government planning to introduce the ‘Advanced British Standard’ and the Labour Party proposing a ‘curriculum and assessment review’, a new report from education think tank EDSK calls on whoever wins the next election to embark on a 10-year plan to reform primary and secondary education. The report – titled ‘Evolution and revolution’ – recommends that SATs and GCSEs should be scrapped in favour of regular online tests from ages 5-14 along with a new four-year ‘Baccalaureate’ for 14 to 18-year-olds.

The report identifies a number of strengths of the current approach to the curriculum, assessment and accountability that the next government should retain. The emphasis on academic rigour through the National Curriculum, GCSEs and A-levels has provided a strong backbone for our education system, as has the use of external exams in primary and secondary schools to avoid the plagiarism and bias frequently found in coursework-style assessments. Allowing students to specialise with three A-levels in their final year at school or college also allows them to study their subjects in considerable depth, which provides an effective foundation for attending university.

The Evolution and revolution report raises serious concerns of the current education system on students and teachers

However, the report also raises serious concerns about the impact of the current education system on students and teachers. The relentless focus on high stakes tests such as SATs in primary school and GCSEs in secondary school is encouraging schools to ‘teach to the test’ and narrow the curriculum to spend more time on exam preparation, which is undermining pupils’ enjoyment and their learning. In addition, the National Curriculum and GCSEs are overloaded with content, with over half of GCSE teachers saying they struggle to get through their course in time. The enduring obsession with pen-and-paper tests is also at odds with other countries such as Australia, Denmark and Wales, who have already dropped written exams in favour of national online testing.

380,000 technical qualifications were awarded to 16-year-olds in 2023 compared to more than 5.4 million GCSEs

In addition, the report finds that the continued dominance of GCSEs and A-levels has relegated technical courses and apprenticeships to second-class status. As a result, just over 380,000 technical qualifications were awarded to 16-year-olds in 2023 compared to more than 5.4 million GCSEs. Worse still, the disastrous rollout of T-levels coupled with the defunding of BTECs has reinforced A-levels as the default option for 16 to 18-year-olds even if many students would have preferred a different pathway. That the current government has excluded apprenticeships from their proposed ‘Advanced British Standard’ illustrates how little value is placed on creating opportunities for young people outside of the traditional classroom.

The EDSK report concludes that the next government should set out a 10-year plan that preserves the most valuable aspects of the current primary and secondary education system but reforms those parts of the system that are holding back students and teachers. The report includes the following recommendations:

• SATs at the end of primary school should be replaced by regular online testing from the ages of 5 to 14, culminating in low-stakes ‘digital SATs’ for 14-year-olds in almost all National Curriculum subjects to inform their future subject choices.
• From ages 14 to 18, GCSEs, A-levels, BTECs, T-levels and apprenticeships should be replaced by a four-year ‘Baccalaureate’ that brings all academic, applied and technical courses into a single framework.
• The new Baccalaureate will require all students to study ‘Core English’ (literacy) and ‘Core Maths’ (numeracy) until age 18, bringing our education system into line with many other developed nations.
• Students will gradually specialise in their preferred subjects over the four-year Baccalaureate, dropping one subject a year (starting with six subjects alongside Core English and Core maths in Year 10, and typically ending with three subjects in Year 13 or two subjects if they are studying a large technical course or apprenticeship).
• To dramatically reduce the existing exam burden after age 14, students will only take a high-stakes external exam when they drop a subject or when they reach the end of the Baccalaureate at age 18.
• External exams within the Baccalaureate will be ‘digital by default’, meaning that students will take shorter digital tests rather than lengthy pen-and-paper tests in most cases.

Tom Richmond, director of EDSK and co-author of this new report, said:

“Whoever wins the next election should aim to preserve those parts of our education system that contribute to higher standards such as rigorous courses and exams. However, many mistakes have been made over the last 14 years, not least the unacceptable bias against vocational and technical qualifications as well as the excessive burdens on students and teachers created by high-stakes written exams, and these issues need to be rectified through a gradual evolution over the next decade.

“By replacing SATs and GCSEs with regular online tests, slashing the amount of primary and secondary curriculum content and introducing a four-year Baccalaureate from ages 14 to 18, schools and colleges will finally be able to focus on giving students more time and space to enjoy their learning and progress as far as possible. Relieving some of the exam pressures on teachers could also be a critical component of tackling the recruitment and retention crisis in the coming years.”

Sector Reaction to Evolution and Revolution

Responding to the EDSK’s new report, Baker Dearing Educational Trust chief executive Simon Connell commented:

“We welcome this new report from EDSK, which puts a welcome spotlight on how the current education system has severely discouraged schools from delivering technical subjects and has also disadvantaged students who do not fit the hyper-academic mould.

“The Upper Secondary Baccalaureate model that this report puts forward offers a viable means of improving the prospects of young people and widening access to technical education, while encouraging high-quality maths and English provision which we know helps students progress to advanced STEM education and careers.”