After A-level reform, what does science in school look like?
4 Sep 2017 by Evoluted New Media
After secondary education testing was reformed in 2015, this summer has seen the first cohort of students receive their results. Has reform affected STEM subjects for better or worse?
After secondary education testing was reformed in 2015, this summer has seen the first cohort of students receive their results. Has reform affected STEM subjects for better or worse?
Following the first year of partial A-level reforms in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the overall uptake and attainment of STEM A-levels have remained stable. Among those subjects that have been reformed this year are Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Physics and Psychology.
A major part of the reform of science courses is the separation of theory and practical work; stand-alone practical endorsements exist in addition to A-level qualifications that no longer contribute to overall grades. The practical endorsements do require a certain amount of practical work is done by students but they are simply pass/fail – and the overall pass rate across science subjects was 98.2%. CaSE and others raised concerns about the change when it was announced as it challenges the authenticity of a qualification in science. It will be something to keep an eye on in years to come.
Another change is that AS level examinations no longer contribute to overall A-level grades. As a result, in the reformed courses in England, the uptake of AS level subjects has fallen by 39% from 2016. This decline has primarily been as a result of English students opting out, as in Northern Ireland and Wales AS levels remain an integral part of A-level qualifications. Not only does this mean greater divergence in education policy across the UK, but we’ll have to wait and see if it results in a reduction in the number of students taking science beyond GCSE.
In line with historic trends of STEM A-level uptake, boys made up a higher proportion of STEM students. 47% of qualifications studied by boys were STEM subjects, while 36% of A-level entries for girls were in STEM subjects. The proportion of girls studying Chemistry has continued to rise from last year, and the number of girls taking Chemistry has surpassed that of boys for the first time in over a decade.
Despite some improvements to the gender balance, subject choices are still highly gendered, particularly for computing and physics, and to a lesser extent in the other direction for biology and psychology. Just ahead of results day, a survey conducted by Atomik Research showed that one in three male teachers believe that STEM careers are more for boys rather than girls, while 16% of their female counterparts thought likewise. We’ve collectively still got a lot of work to do.
Author: James Tooze is Policy Officer at Campaign for Science and Engineering.
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