Exams system 'diseased' and 'almost corrupt'

[Vague_Boy]

England's exam system is "diseased" and "almost corrupt", says a former government adviser in a book on Labour's education policy.

 

A former director at the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, Mick Waters, says exam boards are conniving in the dumbing-down of school exams.

 

In Reinventing Schools, Reforming Teaching, Mr Waters says that before working for the QCA he thought all the criticism about exams being "dumbed-down" was "unfair".

 

"You know, the old argument, more people passed than ever before. Since I've been there, I think the system is diseased, almost corrupt," he says.

 

This is because exam boards are vying for business in a marketplace, he adds.

 

He also says he has heard people from exam boards talking to head teachers and trying to sell their qualifications by implying their examinations are easier than those of other boards.

 

LINK

 

Nothing that anyone with any sense hasn't twigged long ago, but it's nice to see it up on the BBC website.

[dell12]

He hits the nail on the head when he says:

 

"This is because exam boards are vying for business in a marketplace, he adds"

 

All the exam boards are private business, trying to get the custom of the schools. All schools want to get the best results possible, so the exam boards who offer the 'easiest' exams are the ones which are most likely to win the contracts. There really should be a single, nationalised exam board.