Tested to destruction: how an obsession with exams is failing our children

Martha Gill

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How do we reform a system that works for some but writes off so many others? Investing in early childhood would be a good start

The British education system has for decades suffered from an intractable problem. How is it that so many people leave it without basic qualifications? Of the teenagers who are right now trudging through their GCSEs, a fifth are likely to fail English and maths, seen by employers and educators as a benchmark of competence for adult life. Of those, many will resit without success, becoming increasingly disillusioned.

Last year, just 20.9% of resitters achieved a pass in English; for maths, the figure was 17.4%. In practical terms, this means that many of those 16-year-olds are unable to compare the costs of groceries and services, spot fake news or media bias, or understand a medical prescription.

They will be shut out of large parts of the economy, often condemned to low wages and insecure work. After 12 years of schooling, this is the fate of hundreds of thousands of pupils.

It is strange that such a rich nation turns out so many teenagers with fundamental life skills missing - international comparisons show that, at least historically, we are an outlier. In 2016, a review by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development called British teens the "most illiterate in the developed world". Who do exams work for, and who do they betray? We are an overexamined nation. Children run a gauntlet of standardised tests, starting at reception and repeating in year 1, year 2, year 4 and year 6.

The stakes ramp up to breaking point at age 16 through to 18, with GCSEs, AS-levels and A-levels. Entrance exams bar the gates of many private schools and some university courses.