Michael Rosen
An opportunity Words by Michael Rosen Illustration by Dan Berry
As the Covid pandemic rages across the nation, perhaps now’s a good time to try imagination: we know that politicians have begun conversations on whether it would be right to delay examinations. But let’s imagine this could be a moment of unity: instead of being a problem, it could be an opportunity. A window has opened, it’s a time we could seize: and ask the question, why do we have GCSEs? Five years of education reduced to a few hours’ race to scribble as much as possible at a frightening pace. In fact, quite often it doesn’t matter how fast you go what they seem to be testing is what you don’t know. Now of course this suggestion often causes anxiety but what if we mixed examinations with more variety? School time research, course work that’s invigilated? Marking by teachers that’s rigorously moderated? Getting this to be debated always takes nerve it’s often resisted by lovers of the bell curve, the system that ranks according to a norm, but hey, isn’t now a good time to kick up a storm? educate Your magazine from the National Education Union (NEU)
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