Are GCSE and A Level exams outdated? Why one major teaching union thinks so
An education experts says some students can’t show what they were really capable of in exams 📝
- Across the country, A Level candidates have just received their results
- Pupils who took their GCSEs this summer will get theirs later this week
- But a major teaching union leader believes exams need to be modernised
- He says that they’re too high stakes and one-size-fits-all
- England’s school assessments are currently undergoing an official review
Despite a generally strong A Level performance from this year’s cohort, a major teaching union fears the exams themselves meant some students weren’t able to put their best foot forward.
Earlier this week was A Level results day, and it was generally good news for students across the country. Both the proportion of entries earning top grades and the overall pass rate rose this year, while the number of UK 18-year-olds accepted into university based on their results hit a record high. GCSE candidates will find out how they did in their own exams later this week.
But the largely exam-based assessment system used for both qualifications is not without its controversy in some corners, with the National Education Union (NEU) saying the positive results “can't disguise the unfairness of the rigid exam system”. England’s national curriculum and assessments are currently under review, and that also means we could soon see some changes to how they work.
But what exactly are the concerns about exams, and what do we know so far about any potential changes? Here’s what you need to know:
What are the concerns about exams?
NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede congratulated the hard work and effort of the students who had received their results on Thursday, as well as the teachers who had supported them. But he expressed concern that some might not have been able to do as well as they could have.
“[Results day] comes with disproportionate high stakes and unnecessary anxiety for many students. When the entirety of a grade depends on regurgitating two years’ work over a few hours, inevitably some will not demonstrate what they are usually capable of,” he said.
“End of course exams are far from the best and fairest way to assess students' skills,” Mr Kebede continued. But he said there were other qualifications – including some currently being used, like Applied General Qualifications (AGQs) – that used a mixture of assessment methods, “but are no less robust”.
“This rigid one size fits all examination system needs to change.” He added that the ongoing curriculum and assessment review was a “generational opportunity” to modernise it, “by creating a curriculum that is engaging and uses assessment methods more closely aligned with the world young people will face”.
He also said that the review panel should make sure that options like AGQs – which include many vocational qualifications – were retained for future students, especially for their role in giving many disadvantaged students access to higher education.
What is currently expected to change when it comes to qualifications and assessments?
Back in March, the expert panel leading the Government’s national curriculum review released a preliminary report, which found that generally, the education system was working well. Review head Professor Becky Francis said the changes they recommended would likely be an ‘evolution, not a revolution’.
There were a few major areas identified for improvement, including making sure the curriculum works for all students – especially those with SEND or from more disadvantaged backgrounds – making sure the content in each subject was cutting edge and up to date, and making sure it adequately prepared learners for the challenges and opportunities of the future.
When it comes to exams specifically, the initial report noted that a frequently-raised concern in its call for evidence was the high-stakes assessment system’s impact on wellbeing, with many GCSE candidates saying they felt extremely stressed. But shifting to more in-class assessments could increase teacher workload, and make it easier to cheat by using tools like generative AI.
As part of the review’s next phase, the panel says it will “consider carefully whether there are opportunities to reduce the overall volume of assessment at key stage 4” – without compromising the importance of the qualification, or results. This likely means that exams will be here to stay, but that the panel may eventually recommend less of them overall.
Want to find out more about how A Level results day went for students across the country this year? Here’s how many got into their first choice of university, and here were the 2025 grade boundaries for some of the most popular subjects.