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The 2018 GCSE exams have been submitted, assessed, marked and the results published.

For students, the academic year leading to the exams probably witnessed a rainbow of emotions from anxiety, dread, depression and fear to hope, relief and satisfaction when the exams ended. Only for the emotions to rear themselves again as results day approached on 23^rdJuly – exaggerated with the anticipation of grades awarded under the new GCSE 9-1 grading scheme (in England only). However, these reforms impact the students, schools, and further education institutions, but also the employment and affiliated sectors

Before we delve into the impact and actions of these new grades upon prospective recruiters and employers, we first explore the background to the reforms.

Why Were the GCSE Reforms Introduced?

From 2017 to 2020, pupils sitting GCSE exams are in a transition period. Where previous  ‘legacy GCSEs’ were graded from A* to G, GCSEs are graded from 9 down to 1. The changes were introduced as part of wider educational reforms initiated by, the then Secretary of State for Education, Rt Hon Michael Gove MP in 2010. In March 2017, a letter from the successor Secretary of State for Education, Rt Hon Justine Greening MP to the Chair of the Education Select Committee, explained:

“We have revised our GCSE qualifications in England to make them more rigorous, with more demanding content so our young people have the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in 21st Century Britain and to match those of their peers in high-performing education systems elsewhere in the world. The first of the new GCSEs – in English and maths – will be awarded this August, with further subjects to follow over the next three years. The new qualifications will be graded 9-1 instead of A*-G, with 9 the highest grade. This new grading scale is intended to better recognise the achievements of high-attaining pupils and ensure parents have greater clarity over how their child performs in their exams. It will also distinguish the new, more challenging GCSEs clearly from the predecessor qualifications.”

Although Ms Greening’s letter attempts to clarify the differences and benefits of the new scheme, the transition itself has led to confusion for pupils, schools, teachers and employers.

So What are the Changes with the GCSEs?  

In summary:

• Most exams will be taken at the end of the two-year course rather than on completion of modules. The move away from unitised modular assessments commenced several years ago in Maths and English.
• There will be fewer ‘bite-sized’ questions and more essay-style questions.
• The content will be more challenging, with more substantial texts in English literature and a number of new topics in maths.
• ​Everyone will have to do at least two science GCSEs (single science options have been dropped as of 2016).
• Coursework and controlled assessment will disappear from most subjects, apart from practical ones such as art, dance and drama.
• Grades 4 and above are passes.
• It will mandatory for all pupils to achieve a Grade 4 as a minimum pass in Maths and English Language. Less than a 4 will require a mandatory re-sit these exams as part of an individual’s post-16 education. The requirement does not apply to other subjects.

As aforementioned, the new grading scheme is referred to as GCSE 9-1. Contrary to what one might expect, 1 is not the highest grade – 9 is.

The following diagram illustrates the two grading schemes:

Courtesy Ofqual

Whilst the diagram shows that a 9under the new scheme is equivalent to an A*against the ‘legacy’ scheme, the Government has stressed that 9will be awarded tofewerpupils than A*currently are.

Ofqual(The Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation) has stated the following:

• Broadly the same proportion of students will achieve a grade 4 and above as currently achieve a grade C and above
• Broadly the same proportion of students will achieve a grade 7 and above as currently achieve an A and above
• The aim is that, across all subjects, around 20% of those achieving grade 7 and above will be awarded grade 9, although the percentage will vary between subjects.
• The bottom of grade 1 will be aligned with the bottom of grade G
• Grade 5 will be positioned in the top third of the marks for a current Grade C and bottom third of the marks for a current Grade B. This will mean it will be of greater demand than the present grade C, and broadly in line with what the best available evidence tells us is the average PISA (Program for International Assessment) performance in countries such as Finland, Canada, the Netherlands and Switzerland

In the new grading scheme:

• Three of the number grades, 9, 8 and 7, correspond to the current top grades of A* and A.
• 9 is higher than a current A*
• 8 is between and A* and A.
• 7 is are equal to an A
• 6 is equivalent to a high B
• 5 is between a B and C (strong pass)
• 4 is equal to a grade C (standard pass)
• 3 is in between a D and E
• 2 is between an E and F
• 1 is a G
• U refers to an ungraded paper

Under the ‘legacy’ scheme, where C was seen as a “good” pass – the new scheme has a “standard pass” (grade 4), and a “strong pass” (grade 5).

The bottom of the ‘legacy’ grade C and the bottom of the new grade 4 is probably a key point of alignment between the two schemes – albeit confusing for pupils and prospective employers alike.

What is Being Transitioned and When?

The grading reforms are happening across three phases. These are outlined in the diagram below:

GCSE Phased Reform (England)

Additional Changes

• Over time students will achieve a new GSCE, in Combined Science. It is the only GCSE, which is a double award qualification and is equivalent to two GCSEs. It will be graded on a 17-point scale from 1-1 to 9-9 as follows:
  • 1-1, 2-1, 2-2, 3-2, 3-3, 4-3, 4-4, 5-4, 5-5, 6-5, 6-6, 7-6, 7-7, 8-7, 8-8, 9-8, 9-9
  • Where students achieve grade 4-4 or higher, they will have achieved the equivalent of two GCSES at grades A*-C on the old scale.
  • Where students achieve grade 4-3, they will have achieved the equivalent of one GCSE at grades A*-C on the old scale.
• The Government reforms also introduced the English Baccalaureate (EBacc).
• The EBacc refers to a combination of subjects that the Government thinks is important for young people to study at GCSE.
• It includes:
  • English language and English Literature
  • Maths
  • The Sciences
  • Geography or History
  • A Language
• Secondary schools are measured on the number of pupils that take GCSEs in these core subjects. Schools are also measured on how well their pupils do in these subjects.
• For 2017, the attainment measure shows how many pupils achieved both:
  • a grade 5 or above in English and Maths GCSE
  • a grade C or above in Science, a language, and Geography or History
• For 2018:
  • To count towards the English part of the EBacc, pupils need to take both English Literature and English Language GCSE exams.
  • ForScienceexams taken in 2018 onwards, pupils will need to take one of the following options:
    • GCSE Combined Science – pupils take 2 GCSEs that cover the 3 main Sciences, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics
    • 3 single sciences at GCSE – pupils choose 3 subjects from Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Computer Science
    • After the 2017 summer exam series, core and additional, and dual and double award science no longer count towards the EBacc.
• The school league tables will use the percentage of Grade 5 (“good pass”) in English and Maths as one of the comparison benchmarks.
• Wales and Northern Ireland are retaining the familiar A*-G grading scale (Northern Ireland has added a C* grade). These changes do not affect the existing system in use in Scotland.

7 Actions for Recruiters and Employers

1. Understand and recognise that individuals will have a mix of alphabetic and numerical GCSE grades on their CVs between 2017 and 2020.
2. Acknowledge that Grade 4 is a standard pass aligning with the legacy Grade C and that a Grade 5 is a strong pass.
3. Realise that the Government mandates that a Grade 4 must be achieved in English and Maths. Therefore Post-16 education should be supported in order to help individuals achieve the pass grade in these two subjects through re-sits.
4. Understand that GCSE Combined Science is awarded two grades and counts as two qualifications. A 4,4 is a pass in both. A 4,3 is a pass in one. A 3,3 is not a pass.
5. Employers should review their current recruitment policies, not only for school leavers, but also for higher level jobs (for example where a certain grade achievement in Maths and/or English is required), to indicate clearly whether they will require a grade 4 or a grade 5.
6. Ensure that HR and recruiting managers are aware of the of GCSE grading changes for England.
7. Employers and Recruiters will need to understand different grading systems, and the grades achieved by students, across the four UK home countries and matching these differences to the requirements of their organisations.