Exams

English and maths resits are crucial – but fewer should need them

A low pass rate for English and maths GCSEs – especially among disadvantaged pupils – is not an argument for reforming assessment but for improving outcomes

A low pass rate for English and maths GCSEs – especially among disadvantaged pupils – is not an argument for reforming assessment but for improving outcomes

31 Aug 2022, 17:30

Behind this week’s GCSE headlines, jubilant social media posts and relieved announcements on family WhatsApp groups is a different reality – that faced by all those young people who have not passed these exams, especially English and maths.

In fact, pass rates for these two GCSEs are only around 65 per cent nationally. Not only that, but young people from disadvantaged backgrounds are only half as likely to achieve these grades as their better-off peers, and pass rates drop further to a shocking 6.5 per cent for those in alternative provision. These figures illuminate a tremendous waste of potential that might permanently scar many a young person’s life chances.

Some will use that information to argue that our focus on English and maths is myopic and misguided. However, the evidence on the positive relationship between gaining these two qualifications and wider life chances is undeniable.

Our own research shows that young people with only five GCSEs excluding English and maths have worse outcomes than young people with fewer than five GCSEs including those subjects. The data tells a clear story: Young people without these GCSEs are less likely to go to university and more likely to face chronic unemployment – a very raw deal indeed, and one that is disproportionately faced by already disadvantaged pupils year after year.

So it’s right for the government to require young people who have not passed GCSE English or maths by age 16 to continue working towards these crucial qualifications in their post-16 education. But with pass rates at 65 per cent, we also have to accept that the current system is not working.

The good news is that not only is it clear where the problem lies but so too is the path forward. Two policy options stand out as having the capability to reduce this waste of potential and the high human cost that accompanies it: quality tutoring and stronger accountability on pupil premium spend.

Two policy options can reduce this tremendous waste of potential

Extensive evidence shows the positive impact of tutoring for pupils who have fallen behind. The Education Endowment Foundation found that small-group tuition brings four additional months’ progress on average over the course of a year. In 2021, 80 per cent of the disadvantaged  pupils supported by Action Tutoring (a charity Impetus has funded since 2014) achieved GCSE grade 4+ in English or maths – more than 10 percentage points higher than young people from disadvantaged backgrounds more widely.

Access to tutoring is often limited to the schools and parents who can afford it, and the National Tutoring Programme (NTP) was launched to address this disparity. Two years on, quality tutoring is still not available to every child who needs it. The Department for Education must now act to reform the NTP if it is truly committed to making the post-pandemic catch-up programme work as it was intended.

Meanwhile, pupil premium means schools with disadvantaged students receive the resources necessary to give those young people extra support. Post-pandemic, with learning loss concentrated among students from disadvantaged backgrounds and with average per-pupil funding in the most deprived fifth of schools falling in real terms, it is essential that every penny is targeted to improve the academic attainment of disadvantaged young people.

But to ensure that pupil premium is consistently going to where it is most needed, we need greater transparency about how schools spend these resources. This will not only increase school accountability but generate useful data on how best to help disadvantaged students in the future.

So, congratulations to the young people that passed their English and maths GCSES this summer, but it’s now time for us to relentlessly focus on the 35 per cent who didn’t, and the 35 per cent who likely won’t again next year without concerted action.

Ahead of every young person who does not receive English and maths GCSEs is a more difficult future. We owe it to our young people to ensure as many of them as possible receive this leg up, and widening access to tutoring and improving pupil premium accountability are key to meeting that obligation.

Latest education roles from

IT Technician

IT Technician

Harris Academy Morden

Teacher of Geography

Teacher of Geography

Harris Academy Orpington

Lecturer/Assessor in Electrical

Lecturer/Assessor in Electrical

South Gloucestershire and Stroud College

Director of Management Information Systems (MIS)

Director of Management Information Systems (MIS)

South Gloucestershire and Stroud College

Exams Assistant

Exams Assistant

Richmond and Hillcroft Adult & Community College

Lecturer Electrical Installation

Lecturer Electrical Installation

Solihull College and University Centre

Sponsored posts

Sponsored post

It’s Education’s Time to Shine: Celebrate your Education Community in 2025!

The deadline is approaching to nominate a colleague, team, whole school or college for the 2025 Pearson National Teaching...

SWAdvertorial
Sponsored post

Navigating NPQ Funding Cuts: An Apprenticeship Success Story

Last year’s NPQ funding cuts meant that half of England’s teachers faced costs of up to £4,000 to complete...

SWAdvertorial
Sponsored post

Embedding Formative Assessment: not just a box-ticking exercise but something long-term and meaningful for all

Our EFA programme has been proven to help schools achieve better GCSE results, as evidenced by the EEF. Find...

SWAdvertorial
Sponsored post

Building capacity in family support to tackle low school attendance 

Persistent and severe school absence impacts children, families, and communities—especially in disadvantaged areas. School-Home Support’s Attendance Support and Development Programme...

SWAdvertorial

More from this theme

Exams

Exam board fined £250k over string of rule breaches

Ofqual found teachers who also drew up assessments could have known which papers pupils would take, and conflicts among...

Jack Dyson
Exams

Ofqual: School-level exam cheating hits three-year high

Cases of students cheating also jumped by 5.9 per cent, Ofqual data shows

Lucas Cumiskey
Exams

EPI calls for review of phonics screening check

Researchers argue there's 'no evidence' the checks led to improved outcomes

Freddie Whittaker
Exams

AQA uses injunction to clamp down on exam paper cheats

England's largest exam board said it is taking 'proactive enforcement against those who try to undermine confidence in exams'

Samantha Booth

Your thoughts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

One comment

  1. To make matters even worse, grades are unreliable, especially in English – to quote Ofqual’s Chief Regulator, exam grades “are reliable to one grade either way”. That means that a 3 might be a 4, or even a 5, or perhaps a 2 – no one knows which.

    To make that real. This year, about 25,000 GCSE English candidates ‘awarded’ grade 3 would have been given a 4 and (a few) a 5, had their scripts been marked by a senior examiner. 25,000 is the capacity of a medium-sized football ground – and about the same as the number of students at Oxford. These students have, erroneously, been dumped into the social dustbin of the ‘forgotten third’, without the right of appeal for a re-mark. Not because they didn’t work hard enough. Not because their teachers weren’t up to the job. But because Ofqual fail to deliver reliable and trustworthy grades.

    There are many other alarming numbers too – see, for example, https://www.hepi.ac.uk/2022/09/07/are-the-right-freshers-in-the-right-places/