Depressingly few pupils get a proper academic education 極少學(xué)生得到適當(dāng)?shù)幕A(chǔ)理論教學(xué)
Jan 13th 2011 | from PRINT EDITION
I knew I should have done beauty therapy. 我知道我本應(yīng)該學(xué)習(xí)美容療法。
WHEN Michael Gove, the education secretary, took up his post last May, he placed on the bare home page of his department’s website the information that he considers most important: school performance tables. A few months later, Mr Gove added to the data deluge when he announced that schools would be judged not only on the proportion of pupils that passed examinations, but also on the share passing academically rigorous ones. The revamped league tables, published on January 12th, reveal the extent to which schools have artificially inflated their performance by steering pupils towards easier exams.
Just over half of English children leave school having passed five GCSEs, including English and maths, with acceptable grades, a figure that has been rising relentlessly since that measure was introduced as the basis of school-performance tables. Yet only 16% pass their five exams in the subjects once considered essential: a science, a language and a humanity, in addition to English and maths. The rest pass vocational subjects—not surprising, perhaps, when according to the official exchange rate a GCSE in applied physical education is equivalent to one in Latin, and a vocational qualification in beauty therapy worth as much as a good pass at GCSE physics.
A second reason for the low take-up of academic subjects is the declining popularity of modern languages, which were compulsory for 14-16-year-olds until 2004, but are no longer part of the national curriculum for that age group. In 2002, 76% of pupils were entered for French, German or Spanish. By 2010, that figure had fallen to 43%.
That matters because directing pupils towards easier qualifications makes it impossible for them to get into the best universities. University College London, for example, has said that from 2012 it will require entrants to all its degree courses to have passed a GCSE in a modern language at grade C or above.
Some head teachers complain that the new tables are unfair, because Mr Gove’s criteria were devised after the relevant exams had been sat. Others observe that highlighting academic subjects will not stop schools distorting their methods to maximise their standing. In the past some have coached those students close to achieving five good passes while neglecting those who seem certain either to pass or fail; now teachers could come under pressure to pull the same trick, but for academic GCSEs only. The games will no doubt continue—but at least they now have a determined umpire.