Cambridge University’s exam board head bemoans ‘politicisation’ of exam system
July 22, 2008
The government has secured unprecedented control of the examination system, interfered in the minutest of qualifications and inadvertently contributed to a loss of public faith in standards, according to Greg Watson, the head of Cambridge University’s exam board.
He mentioned to the Guardian that the government has got intimately involved in the current exam system, introducing rapid reforms over the past 11 years that have almost risked the GCSEs and A-levels credibility in the eyes of the general public.
Plans to form Ofqual, an independent exams watchdog, are likely to worsen the situation worse, since it has not been given ‘enough responsibilities’, according to him. Watson also claimed the ‘politicisation’ of the exam system significantly increased from 1997.
Asked what the effect on standards was, he stated: “The big impact is that the public in general is not sure any more. There is too much change too often. The reason why they are uncertain is because every change gives rise to a doubt about whether the standards are being moved.”
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