Waddell (1978)

Notes on the text

Part I

Preliminary pages Contents, Membership
Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 2 Educational matters
Chapter 3 Structure of the examining system
Chapter 4 Cost
Chapter 5 Conclusions
Appendices

Part II

Preliminary pages Contents, Membership

Report of the Education Study Group (ESG)

Glossary, Introduction
Chapter 1 Feasibility of common exam system
Chapter 2 English
Chapter 3 Mathematics
Chapter 4 Science
Chapter 5 History
Chapter 6 Geography
Chapter 7 Modern languages
Chapter 8 Classics
Chapter 9 Commerce
Chapter 10 Social science
Chapter 11 Religious studies
Chapter 12 Craft design and technology
Chapter 13 Technical drawing
Chapter 14 Home economics
Chapter 15 Needlecraft and dress
Chapter 16 Art
Chapter 17 Music
Chapter 18 Further work
Appendix A List of witnesses
Appendix B Questions
Appendix C Statistics
Appendix D Joint examinations

Report of the Cost Study Group (CSG)

Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 2 Costs in 1976
Chapter 3 Costing a common system
Chapter 4 Changeover costs
Annexes

Report of the Steering Committee established to consider proposals for replacing the General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level and Certificate of Secondary Education examinations by a common system of examining

Chairman: Sir James Waddell CB

Presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for Education and Science and the Secretary of State for Wales by Command of Her Majesty July 1978

London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office 1978
© Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and the Queen's Printer for Scotland.

Part I: Cmnd 7281-I
Part II: Cmnd 7281-II

Part I

Appendices

Appendix A Membership of the Educational Study Group

CHAIRMAN

*Mr JA Hudson CB, Department of Education and Science

MEMBERS

*Miss SJ Browne CB, HM Inspectorate
*Mrs Lorna Denton JP, Parent Member of the National Confederation of Parent Teacher Associations National Executive; Secretary, Derbyshire Federation of Parent Teacher Associations
*Mr AH Jennings CBE, Headmaster, Ecclesfield Comprehensive School, Sheffield
Mr RD Nixon, Director of Education, Walsall
Dr DL Nuttall JP, Secretary, Middlesex Regional Examining Board
Mr RD Price, County Education Officer, Dorset County Council
Mr IM Richardson, Headmaster, Bancroft's School, Woodford Green; Chairman, Examinations Committee, University of London, University Entrance and School Examinations Council
*Mr JE Williams, Headmaster, Prestatyn High School, Clwyd, Wales
*Miss Sheila D Wood CBE, Hon. Secretary, Joint Executive Committee of the Associations of Head Masters, Head Mistresses, Assistant Masters and Assistant Mistresses (the Joint Four)

SECRETARIAT

Mr BC Arthur HMI
Mr BL Baish (until 8 March 1978)
Mr DV Stafford (from 8 March 1978)

Appointments shown are those held by members at the time of their appointment to the Group.

*Denotes also member of the Steering Committee.

Appendix B Membership of the Cost Study Group

CHAIRMAN

*Dr Barbara E Marsh JP, Chairman, Shropshire Education Committee

MEMBERS

Mr BC Arthur, HM Inspectorate
Mr DH Board, Secretary, Metropolitan Regional Examinations Board
*Mr RH Bird, Department of Education and Science (to 5 September 1977)
*Mr Ron Cocking, Headmaster, Colmers Farm Junior School, Birmingham
*Mr W Cooke OBE, Headmaster, Highfield Comprehensive School, Gateshead (died 17 March 1978)
Mr VJ Delany, Director of Financial Services, Department of Education and Science
*Mr PH Halsey MVO, Department of Education and Science (from 5 September 1977)
Mr S Hughes, formerly Headmaster, Burnage High School for Boys, Manchester (from 23 September 1977)
Mr J Morris, Deputy Education Officer, Essex
Mr G W Nethersell, Assistant Treasurer (Education), Coventry
Dr F Wild, Secretary, Cambridge University Local Examinations Syndicate

CONSULTANT

Mr J Fielden Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co.

SECRETARIAT

Mr BL Baish (until 8 March 1978)
Mr DV Stafford (from 8 March 1978)

Appointments shown are those held by members at the time of their appointment to the Group.

*Denotes also member of the Steering Committee.

Appendix C

1976 GCE O Level and CSE examination entries (England and Wales)

Appendix D Schools Council: Decisions of Governing Council on a common system of examining at 16+ (8 July 1976)

1. Governing Council decided that the Secretary of State be asked to establish a Common System of Examining at an early date to replace the existing Certificate of Secondary Education and the Ordinary Level Examinations of the General Certificate of Education, and that the features of the new system be as set out below.

2. Governing Council decided that:

(i) the certificate of the common system of examining should be entitled the Certificate of Education;

(ii) the common system of examining should be designed for the same range of ability of candidates, subject by subject, as that for which GCE O Level and CSE examinations are currently designed (the top 60 per cent of the full ability range in a given subject);

(iii) winter examinations should be held under a common system, in addition to examinations in the summer period, recognising that practical difficulties might limit the availability of examinations in some subjects.

(i) be a single-subject system;

(ii) be separately certificated;

(iii) be open to candidates from schools, colleges of further education and other institutions as well as private candidates;

(iv) have no upper or lower age limit on entries.

(i) examinations under Modes I, II and III should be available under the common system, as well as mixed mode examinations, and to ensure reasonable comparability, criteria should be established for the acceptance, validation and moderation of syllabuses and schemes of assessment;

(ii) if, under Mode I, there is a component of the system, which is normally assessed by the candidate's own teacher, either arrangements should be made whereby this component may be assessed externally, or an alternative paper to this component, externally marked and carrying the same weighting in the final assessment should be available, or an alternative system consisting wholly of external assessments should be offered;

(iii) the results of the common system of examining should be expressed in terms of seven grades which would be shown on the certificates, together with an unclassified category which would not be so recorded;

(iv) the grades should in the introductory period of the new system be linked to the present GCE O Level and CSE grades in the following manner:

The top three grades should be equivalent to the GCE O Level Grades A, B and C respectively.

Similarly, the other four grades to be equivalent to the present CSE Grades 2, 3, 4 and 5 respectively.

Candidates who were unclassified would be those whose work did not merit the award of a certificate, as in the CSE unclassified category.

(v) the grades should be numbered 1 - 7, with the lower numbers representing the higher grades of attainment;

(vi) although these grades are linked to present GCE O Level and CSE grades, grade descriptions which will have to stand in their own right should in due course be developed; in drawing up these new grade descriptions it is intended that present standards should be at least maintained.

(i) recognised the importance of securing a viable and genegenrally acceptable utilisation of the facilities and resources of the boards at present offering CSE and O Level examinations to provide an effective and economic administrative structure for the common system of examining;

(ii) recommended that such an administrative structure:

(a) be teacher controlled;
(b) be regionally based;
(c) shall allow a choice of boards;
(d) be coordinated by the Schools Council.

(iii) wished to assure the Secretary of State that the Schools Council would, if requested, take steps to reach an agreement between the interested parties on an administrative structure once a decision on the acceptability of the common system had been taken;

(iv) recognised that it is essential that further development work in both curriculum and assessment techniques be carried out before the introduction of syllabuses for any new examination system the Secretary of State might authorise;

(v) recommended that it is prepared to encourage and support appropriate development work;

(vi) expected that a common system would be fully operational five years after a decision by the Secretary of State in favour of the proposals.