EVIDENCE I'VE FOUND MYSELF

I have gathered some evidence on social media which could explain why we need to have both exams and coursework in the GCSE Curriculum. As long as neither assessments contain too much pressure to revise, cram or have short deadlines, then hopefully they could work out. Even though my data is not entirely representative (especially Reddit), I tried to gather as much as I could.

In 2024, I began to do more research mainly on the stress and anxieties many young people (as well as teachers) have faced while revising for their GCSE Exams. I looked closely into articles which mainly mentioned the horrific causes and mental health problems high-stake content put onto students and teachers. For example, there is this one article on the Week about how exams have become the core of secondary education. As a result, this excludes the importance of life skills and creativity. It states the current GCSE Curriculum is "wasteful, costly and cruel". It also mentions "compulsory maths and science, but no compulsory health, economics, law, civics, computing or human relationships". Reading this definitely made me come to believe that our system needs some serious reformations, even though the idea of removing exams might not be the best of solutions. Instead, changing the content might be a fairer and easier idea since it might not take as long as forming a new qualification.



SURVEYPLANET

I have created a couple of surveys myself on SurveyPlanet and it was mainly young people who took them. One was about their views on the GCSE Curriculum (76 participants) and whether it needed reforming or not and the other is focused on their views on the removal of coursework (39 participants).
 
Around 90% of people who took the GCSE survey believe that the GCSE Curriculum needed some reformations. Some mentioned that the amount of time and space we had for revising was too much at once and a few even mentioned that it has had some horrific impacts on their mental health. Others mentioned that there was too much emphasis on academic qualifications, intense focus on memorisation, cramming by the end of Year 11 and the inequalities for other students, such as those with SEN Needs (dyslexia, ADHD, Autism, etcetera). Very few believe that it has no problems at all.

However, 58.1% of the participants believe that "GCSEs need some tweaks but shouldn't be scrapped". Around 25% believed that they should be scrapped and replaced with either Continuous Assessment or a mixture of assessments. The rest did not believe they should be scrapped. This implied that the GCSE Curriculum needs improving but the qualification needs to stay. However, speaking of the subjects they chose, several students stated that they picked humanity subjects and as for the creative subjects, there was a massive gap in between themselves and the humanity ones. This is definitely a representation of how creative subjects have been suppressed and overlooked.

































































































Regarding the survey on coursework, 50% of participants stated they preferred coursework assessments more to exams. 39.5% stated they found coursework easier than exams too. Regarding the reduction of plagiarism, some participants suggested that plagiarism checkers/invigilators could be an alternative while others mentioned AI detectors could help. However, some believe that AI tools could be very faulty at the same time. Some also believe that it may be more helpful to do coursework assignments at school rather than at home due to copying evidence found on research. I also agree that it would be helpful since students might have exam revision and cramming in coursework alongside that could add to stress even more. This is why it could be beneficial to do most in schools.






















THESTUDENTROOM

I have also gathered a little evidence on TheStudentRoom. I asked a few questions about the reduction of holistic assessments in the GCSE Curriculum, with one person explaining that the "modern exams don't work for everyone". Another also stated they believe that cramming in exams all together is "ridiculous" and "extremely stressful", which could potentially mean that students would need to "sacrifice revision in one subject for another." Coming to realise the amount of time many students would need to sacrifice for their GCSE revision, the burden and the stress for cramming and the time they have is unimaginable.

As for plagiarism in coursework, one student mentioned that completing coursework assignments in lessons and writing it out by hand could prevent it. For example, creating a poster with a textbook to help demonstrate one's understanding. Overall, it is learning which matters more than memorisation, one's memory is just part of the learning process.
 
What could be done to prevent plagiarism in coursework? - The Student Room
Do you prefer coursework or exams? Which do you find easier? - The Student Room



















REDDIT

I have come across the GCSE subreddit where I did not face a great deal of support with my ideas (because a great many people up there achieve mostly grades 7-9 to my surprise), however, I did make quite a few posts and polls to gather additional evidence. Although some people disagreed with the fact that I stated we should have balance in the system, the evidence discovered in my polls suggested that even some of the highest achieving students believe there is a lack of space for creative and critical thinking. I have created at least fifteen polls and quite a few posts in r/GCSE from early to mid 2024.

One of them had 154 voters and the question asked whether 'GCSEs should be spread out more'. 86 people agreed with the statement (59 picked 'definitely yes' while 27 picked 'yes'). 32 picked 'neutral' while the remaining 36 disagreed (23 picked 'no' and 13 picked 'definitely no'). Overall, more people agreed than disagreed (86/154 vs 36/154).

Another one included 117 voters and the question was whether GCSEs had an affect on the individuals' mental health or not. 39 people picked 'yes and no' while 42 agreed (27 picked 'definitely yes' while 15 picked 'yes'). 36 disagreed (with 28 picking 'no' and 8 picking 'definitely no'). I also answered it myself and I picked 'yes and no'. Overall, more had mixed feelings on this topic but more agreed than disagreed (42/117 vs 36/117).

























While a great many of my polls did not have over 100 voters, it did help me come to realise the realities of the current state of the GCSE Curriculum. It implied that many people struggle with academic pressure, people who achieve high grades generally prefer exams more to coursework, whereas people who achieve lower grades generally prefer either a mixture of assessments or vocational work alone.
 
(Just copy and paste in a link).
https://www.reddit.com/r/GCSE/comments/1cxm159/should_gcse_exams_be_spread_out_more/ https://www.reddit.com/r/GCSE/comments/1cc8olc/do_you_find_gcses_enjoyable_stressful_or_perhaps/ https://www.reddit.com/r/GCSE/comments/1eqoy1g/we_should_have_a_system_with_exams_only_and_no/ https://www.reddit.com/r/GCSE/comments/1credgf/has_the_gcse_revision_had_a_bad_effect_on_your/ https://www.reddit.com/r/GCSE/comments/1cr4jwz/would_you_change_the_gcse_curriculum_if_you_could/ https://www.reddit.com/r/GCSE/comments/1cqnkoe/what_kind_of_reformation_do_you_think_the/ https://www.reddit.com/r/GCSE/comments/1cqmeww/do_you_believe_the_gcse_curriculum_needs_some/ https://www.reddit.com/r/GCSE/comments/1cqk54c/are_you_satisfied_with_the_gcse_curriculum_do_you/ https://www.reddit.com/r/GCSE/comments/1cqjtwv/teachers_and_students_mental_health_is_not_being/ https://www.reddit.com/r/GCSE/comments/1cmmzzc/do_you_like_the_gcse_system_please_answer_honestly/ https://www.reddit.com/r/GCSE/comments/1cc8olc/do_you_find_gcses_enjoyable_stressful_or_perhaps/ https://www.reddit.com/r/GCSE/comments/1c9rloy/should_the_gcse_curriculum_remain_the_exact_way/
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Here is my Reddit profile if you are interested to see it. Just cut and paste the link if it doesn't work. It isn't the most professional of all, but so what? All I want to do is to spread my word and for all voices who support my message to be heard. Just scroll down if it takes you a while to find my posts in r/GCSE because I have posted things on other subreddits too.

FRW0605 (u/fran478952361walker) - Reddit

 

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QUOTEV

 

I very rarely use Quotev, but I have conducted one survey up there. I asked people questions about their views on the GCSE Curriculum. 71 people took my survey.

 

59% of the participants believe that the GCSE qualifications should stay, however, 73% believe that the current curriculum has had huge impacts on many young people's mental health. 69% also believe that the GCSE Curriculum needs some reformations alongside 50% found it stressful.

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As for the multiple choice question, most participants picked one of the alternatives to GCSE. The highest are the ones I will mention. 21% picked taking English and Maths a year early to avoid cramming, with 20% who want less formal testing. 18% picked balancing assessments and possibly giving students the option of how they would like to be assessed.

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Overall, all my evidence suggests that the GCSE Curriculum should stay, but it needs some potentially serious reformations, such as reintroducing coursework or holistic assessments and an increase in employment for mental health carers.