Board criticised for hiring trainee teachers as GCSE history examiners. Julie Henry reports
TRAINEE teachers who have yet to start their classroom careers are being signed up as examiners.
Exam board Edexcel is training PGCE students at London University’s Institute of Education to mark this summer’s GCSE papers.
The pilot, involving 30 history students, could be extended to religious education and information and communications technology.
The exam board was criticised in an audit report published earlier this year for poor management and quality control. Exam entries were underestimated and not enough examiners were employed.
It argues that trainee teachers are ideal candidates because they have up-to-date knowledge of the curriculum, but the scheme has been described as a “desperate measure” by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers.
About 48,000 examiners will be needed this year to mark 7.5 million GCSE and A-level entries. Shortfalls in some subjects last year were shored up by piling more papers on experienced examiners.
Examiners are not required to be teachers. Some boards have retired teachers and university lecturers on their books. The Assessment and Qualifications Alliance is recruiting IT postgraduates for the first time this year.
The PGCE students receive three days’ training, compared to the normal two for new examiners, and are paid pound;80 a day. The new examiners will earn around pound;720 for about 450 scripts marked over three weeks.
An Edexcel spokeswoman said the PGCE students in the pilot would only mark history scripts. “Their work is rigorously checked and monitored to ensure it meets the standard. These teachers have a fresh knowledge of the curriculum. From their point of view, examining gives them an extra skill which may help them when they are looking for a job.”
She said if headteachers were increasingly reluctant to release staff to examine, the awarding bodies had to be increasingly pro-active to attract recruits.
One student taking part said the exam board training was very professional and that those involved had to reach a suitable standard of marking to be allowed to continue.
Gwen Evans, Association of Teachers and Lecturers deputy general secretary, said: “This is indicative of a system near collapse and a bit of a desperate measure.
“If I was teaching GCSE and A-level students this year I would be worried about the quality of marking.
“Examining should be part of teacher training and professional development, not the equivalent of supermarket shelf-stacking.”
Damian Green, Conservative education spokesman, said: “Given the recent history of Edexcel I would have thought this is not a good year to experiment.
“The vast majority of these students might be perfectly competent but any problems this year will have a serious knock-on effect on confidence in the whole exam system.”
