August 23, 2022

Tony Blair Institute Calls for Radical Reforms Including Cancelling of GCSE’s and A-levels

A According to a report, GCSEs and A-levels should be abolished in favour of a system that better prepares students for the workforce. According to the study done by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI), the educational system in England needs to be drastically changed in order for students to succeed in a workplace that is increasingly influenced by automation and artificial intelligence.

The so-called four Cs—critical thinking, creativity, communication, and collaborative problem-solving—need to be stressed more in the current educational environment in England, according to the organisation, which believes that it relies too heavily on passive forms of learning that are centred on direct instruction and memorization.

…we have analogue learning for a digital age: a paper-based system that revolves around snapshot judgments rather than assessing whether schools are preparing young people for the future they face…

"While there is a place for these kinds of exams, we cannot rely on them alone: they only measure certain skills, they do not always do this accurately, and they invite narrow teaching styles aimed at passing tests rather than building other key aptitudes," Sir Tony Blair wrote in an editorial. "We have analogue learning for a digital age: a paper-based system that revolves around snapshot judgments rather than assessing whether schools are preparing young people for the future they face," he continued. Meanwhile, some of the world's best athletes are pushing ahead.

The report also suggests forming an expert commission to reform the national curriculum, which should be based on minimum proficiency in numeracy, literacy, and science and will eventually include more digital skills. It also cites transferring responsibility for curriculum design to a non-political body as part of the proposed changes, as well as changing the strategy and approach of Ofsted, the school’s watchdog, to focus on safeguarding and school management quality.

Posted in News and tagged News, Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI), England, GCSE, A-levels, Skills
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