Stop panicking – the assessment is years away

The secondary science community is in a bit of a flap. The specifications for the new GCSEs have not yet been approved. There are drafts available, but many schools have already begun teaching GCSE courses to their Year 9 students while in the dark about what the specs will hold.

I can’t help but think the hysteria is getting a little out of control. In the uncertainty about the future of our assessments we have lost sight of what we’re actually teaching. I teach chemistry, not AQA iGCSE Level 1/2 certificate chemistry, although that’s what it will say on the exam papers. 

Kristy Turner considers our examination fixation, have we started to put assessments ahead of the science?