Quote:
Originally Posted by Oliver_W
I don't necessarily think GCSEs should be scrapped - while it's now compulsory to be in some kind of education until 18, this includes vocational apprenticeships. A "progress check" is all well and good for those going onto their school's sixth form, but those who wish to do apprenticeships need something to show they have met the grades.
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Surely a specifically targetted entrance exam for the apprenticeship itself would be more useful? To test specifically that the basics needed for that apprenticeship are present? e.g. there are a lot of vocational trades where things like mental arithmetic and geometry would be essentials, but anything beyond the most basic algebra would be useless, and likewise other things taught in GCSE level maths (standard deviations, quadratics, etc).
Would also allow for targetted development of those skills to then retry later.
[edit to add] Likewise, a simple grade can be misleading because someone could feasibly score a B in GCSE maths whilst getting
every single geometry question on the exam 100% wrong. They could have a specific weakness in that area that's masked by strength on the other questions. But what if that's the only part of maths that's relevant to the apprenticeship they're seeking?