GCSE Mathematics
On 22 April 2009, after 6 months of intensive work by ACME in close collaboration with the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) and awarding bodies, Ofqual approved the criteria for a pair of linked mathematics GCSEs. This represents the negotiation of a major hurdle on the road to full introduction, and means that piloting of the pair can now proceed from 2010.
The Process:
- Notes on Structural Issues Facing the Two-Tier Model for GCSE Mathematics - 16 February 2010
- ACME Welcomes Ofqual Approval of Pair of Mathematics GCSEs - 8 April 2009
- Letter from Rt. Hon Gordon Brown MP (Prime Minister) to Lord Rees of Ludlow (President, Royal Society) -29 January 2009
- Letter from Lord Rees of Ludlow (President, Royal Society) to Rt. Hon Gordon Brown MP (Prime Minister)- 18 December 2008
- ACME's response to the government's announcement that a pair of GCSE's in mathematics would be piloted from 2010. -12 December 2008
- ACME's invitation for comments on its Draft GCSE Subject Criteria for Mathematics - Summer 2008
- ACME Briefing Note - The Future of GCSE Mathematics
The backstory:
In March 2006, the then Secretary of State for Education and Skills, Ruth Kelly, announced a new Mathematics GCSE at the ACME conference on Making Mathematics Count - Two Years On. ACME is continuing to advise Government and its agencies to ensure that the introduction of another GCSE in mathematics is supportive of Government's ambitions to increase the uptake of mathematics post16. ACME is concerned that at least 60% of students should be encouraged to take the second Mathematics GCSE and that both GCSEs should be carefully designed to ensure that the assessment satisfactorily meets the needs of the 14-19 mathematics pathways. On 2 February 2007, ACME issued a Position Statement on GCSE Mathematics to support this. ACME invited responses to its draft GCSE Mathematics criteria in June 2008: ACME maths criteria and Ofqual response
