Testing times

by Duncan O'Leary

Here's a thought. The government wants to raise the school leaving age. And lots of people have objections to the way young people are tested at school - see here for how they could be orientated more towards future learning and here for how they could reflect a wider range of skills. Could changing the school age open up the possibility of doing something radical with GCSEs? If people aren't leaving at 16 then why not do something interesting with testing at that age - getting rid of it, or adapting it so that it supports learning rather than just measures it?

Simon Parker

I can't be the first person to suggest this, but why not use the higher leaving age as an excuse to scrap GCSEs and get Tomlinson done properly. You'd introduce a combined leaving certificate for all pupils, ideally with an option to complete it entirely through vocation or on-the-job training. The real challenge is going to be working out what to do with all the people who would otherwise have dropped out. Presumably, they were leaving education because they didn't like it much. The problems of the NEET generation won't disappear just because you force them to take a second rate college course .

Alex Stobart

I think that Scotland recently decided to extend education to 18. Perhaps there are some people to talk with up there about what their plans are

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