ATL COMMENT ON QCA REPORT INTO COMPARABILITY OF EXAM STANDARDS

Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association and Lecturers (ATL), said:

“We give cautious support to this report.  The comparison of exam standards is helpful to try to end the annual free for all over what are 'hard' or 'soft' subjects.  But the focus on exams misses a vital aspect of education - the curriculum itself. 

“Without changing the curriculum to a skills-based one which focuses on knowledge and understanding, and gives teachers the flexibility to adapt what they teach to the needs of their students, we will continue to churn out thousands of students every year who are not as well-prepared for work and their future lives as they could be.

“We hope the QCA report doesn’t do more harm than good, by narrowing the debate about how to improve education to a short-sighted emphasis on exams and grades.”