There's good news for the Government in the school league tables published today. Yes, more English secondary schools are deemed to be "failing" – 195 based on last summer's GCSE results, compared to 107 based on results in 2011. But that's because the Department for Education has raised the floor target. Last year, a school was said to be failing if fewer than 35 per cent of its pupils got five or more GCSEs at grade C or above including Maths and English, whereas this year the threshold has been raised to 40 per cent. Had the same floor applied this year, the number of failing schools would have increased to 251 – which supports Michael Gove's view that introducing tougher floor targets raises standards. (To read more, click here.)
Re: Latest school league tables prove Michael Gove
Posted by Duncan on 25-01-2013 10:08:
"...a convertor academy where each pupil averaged 14 GCSEs graded A*."
Toby - have you been around education too long to see what nonsense that has to be?
When I was at school, we did not have time to study 14 subjects to exam level (it was GCE O-level then). 9 was the max, which I'm proud to say I got. i then went on to A-levels and to Oxford.
Next, if you can get an A* in all 14 there has to be something wrong with the grading. Is it not self-evident that an exam catalogue where everyone can achieve A* across 14 subjects is neither rigorous nor deep.
No wonder our children are unprepared for work and real life: they must be studying lots of things at useless superficial level and bring told they are top class for knowing nothing.
Anyone know the technical term for the metal casing around the hose that feeds a shower head? (15 hours ago)
