GCSE pass rates have fallen this year amid the biggest shake-up to the exams in a generation, with the number of pupils attaining the top grades plummeting under the new system.
As half a million pupils receive their results, today’s figures show that across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the proportion of entries scoring a C or above – or a 4 under the new grading system – has fallen by 0.6 percentage points since last year to 66.3 per cent – the lowest it’s been since 2008.
Under the exam overhaul, traditional A* to G grades are being gradually replaced in England with a 9 to 1 system, with English and maths – key GCSEs for all teenagers – being the first to move across this year and other subjects following over the next two years.
Among pupils in England, slightly more than 2,000 pupils achieved a grade 9 in all three reformed subjects, compared with 6,500 attaining the top A* mark in all three last year – marking a drop of more than 50 per cent of the pupils achieving the highest grade under the new system.
In the UN we have members who are also at school or in university. I will talk to them to see if they got the grades they wanted and if not what grades they were looking for.
I spoke to was Sour.Rainbows who recently got her GCSE's results. This is what she had to say about her grades:
I then asked her what she thinks about the new grading system that has come into place in the UK. This is what she said about that:
What does PinkPolka9182.. think about the new grading system that has come into place?
The old system was no longer fit for purpose. Too many people attaining the highest grades with no real differentiation between abilities. The new system is more difficult - which comes as a shock to those who still compare it to the attainment they could have expected under the old system. The change in grades reflect the intended spreading out of ability range and the 1-9 grades mirror this. Also, it easily identifies the new exam cohorts from the old style. Transition to a new system is always difficult, but within 5 to 7 years it will be fully embedded and those who enter year 8 in September will know no different. So overall give it time and it'll work.
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