Balancing act on exam reform

The exam system could introduce a four-stage diploma

The school exam system is to face major changes, under proposals expected to be presented by a government-appointed taskforce this week.

It has been anticipated that a new four-part "diploma" structure will be proposed, which will mean fewer exams, more teacher assessment and greater encouragement for pupils to stay in school beyond the age of 16.

But what is less clear is how such a diploma - not the "English baccalaureate" that had been canvassed - will relate to the existing GCSE and A-level exams.

Any attempt to remove A-levels will cause a flurry of indignation from traditionalists who see this qualification as the "gold standard" of the education system.

GCSEs would also need to be replaced by a meaningful qualification for those pupils who leave school at 16.

It has been suggested that the taskforce, led by former chief inspector of schools Mike Tomlinson, will propose a system that allows exams such as A-levels to continue within a diploma structure.

Wider choice

The diploma system could stretch across the exams and tests taken by pupils between the ages of 14 to 19, progressing through "entry", "foundation", "intermediate" and "advanced" levels.

The advanced level of the diploma would be equivalent to A-levels, but it is expected that pupils would have to continue a wider range of subjects than at present.

This could mean that all students will have to study basic skills such as literacy, numeracy and information technology until they leave school, regardless of their specialist subjects.

A key objective of any changes will be to reduce the numbers of pupils leaving school at 16 - with Britain having one of the lowest staying-on rates in the developed world.

It will also have to address concerns that the present exam system, with GCSEs, AS and A-levels, is too overcrowded.

This "overload" could be reduced by a system that depends less on formal, external exams and which would have a greater level of ongoing teacher assessment.

But any such change will have to be balanced against the concerns of those who will claim that removing the benchmarks of A-level and GCSE will represent a "dumbing down" of exam standards.

The taskforce was set up in January, alongside the announcement of an overhaul of the curriculum for 14 to 19 year olds, which proposed a much wider role for vocational training.