There’s a great debate taking place in the UK right now about the future of qualifications and assessment. It’s been brought into sharpened focus following the impact COVID-19 has had on young people over the past two years.
With the cancellation of exams, questions of how, when, and why we assess the educational progress of young people have attracted a range of thought-provoking ideas. While many of these ideas reflect the views of experts and opinion-leaders, the voices of parents, employers, teachers, and learners themselves have largely been missing.
In response to this, Pearson launched a consultation earlier this year to bring together those from across the UK’s education system, from learners and employers to parliamentarians and teachers, to get their views on how the system can be improved to ensure it better serves young people and effectively prepares them for their future careers.
What we discovered was both surprising and encouraging. Most people see strength in our education system and believe it should be modified and built upon, not dismantled and rebuilt. But they do want education to be more inclusive, more empowering and more relevant to people’s lives.
We’ve released an interim report that syntheses the views we received from over 6,000 people. Here are six of the key findings:
1. Qualifications are valuable. 75% of people think qualifications are important and want them balanced with a broad education that helps young people play an active role in society and prepares them for life.
2. Employers think students need broader, deeper knowledge and skills: Only one fifth of employers believe students are prepared with all of the right knowledge and skills. They value a core of knowledge plus broader, deeper knowledge including problem-solving, creativity, resilience, leadership and respect for others.
3. Academic qualifications alone aren’t preparing students for jobs of the future: 61% of Members of UK Parliament thought academic qualifications alone do not prepare young people for jobs of the future with the need for a less binary split between vocational and academic pathways. Young people have a similar view.
4. There’s a perceived lack of choice in curriculum when it comes to the range of subjects available to study or the qualifications available: 39% of recent school leavers (19–24-year-olds) told us they believe there’s a lack of choice, while 26% of 14–19-year-olds hold this view. Two thirds of teachers also feel the range of subjects they can offer their students at KS4 and KS5 is limited.
5. Career path is the biggest factor behind qualification choices: 43% of 14–19-year-olds said that pursuing a particular career was the key factor influencing the decision on what qualifications to choose.
6. More innovation with technology is needed: 75% of school and college leaders and classroom teachers feel more teaching and assessment should be supported through technological solutions. But 95% of teachers want more support such as regular CPD to make the most of these solutions.
Head over to our dedicated space to find out more of what students, parent, schools and teachers told us about qualifications and assessment in the UK.
Sharon Hague is Managing Director of Pearson School Qualifications.