Schools in England face an ‘immense’ challenge to improve pupils’ grades in maths, report warns
Students need to score two-thirds higher on average to match the performance of their counterparts in Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore
ENGLAND’S schools face an “immense” challenge to improve pupils’ maths performance to catch up with the world’s leading countries, an alarming report warns today.
The Education Policy Institute (EPI) said students in England need to score two-thirds of a grade higher on average to match the performance of their counterparts in Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Standards in Wales was even more concerning. EPI boss and ex-schools minister David Laws warned: “The dire performance of Wales is also highlighted by this analysis - performance in the country is shockingly bad by international standards.”
In a report published on the eve of tomorrow’s GCSE’s grades - which will gives results in a 9-1 format for the same time - the think tank urges the Department for Education to set its target grade at 5 - higher than the old “C” grade.
Currently the Government has set its standard pass target at 4.
Researchers used data from international tests in maths and reading and last year’s GCSE results to compare performance between nations.
Mr Laws said: “This analysis highlights the gulf between education outcomes in England and the performance of the world’s best education nations.
“In certain subjects, such as maths, England needs both to significantly raise the number of top performers and almost halve the number of low performers if it is to compete with the world’s best.”
He added: “Our analysis suggests that the Department for Education is right to be re-focusing our education system on students achieving the new “strong pass” of a grade 5.
"The old 'C' grade is not an adequate national aspiration if England wants to compete with top education nations."
Under the biggest shake-up of exams in England for a generation, traditional A* to G grades have been replaced with a 9 to 1 system, with 9 the highest mark.
English and maths - key GCSEs for all teenagers - are the first to move over, with other subjects following over the next two years.
The grading switch, part of wider reforms designed to make GCSEs more rigorous and challenging, has been introduced in a bid to allow more differentiation between students, particularly among the brightest.
The government has said that a grade 4 will be considered a standard pass, and a 5 a “strong” pass.