Aligning curriculum and assessment reform with teaching for mastery in mathematics FE GCSE Resit/FSQ

About 175,000 annually^I Students re-sit GCSE 16 Maths. Despite the determination and efforts of post-16 teachers, only about a quarter of these students will achieve a GCSE maths grade 4 – a widely accepted “pass” grade – by age 19. These stark statistics highlight a flaw in our system that leaves thousands of students without the math knowledge and skills they need for everyday life and for further education and training.

In this blog post, NCETM Director Charlie Streep and Emma Bell, NCETM Director of GCSE and Post-16 Functional Skills, explore how curriculum and assessment reform could change students’ post-16 mathematics experiences.

Mathematics 1 and 2 levels after 16 years

Knowledge of mathematics is vital to success in everyday life and work, as well as to support further education in other disciplines. For students who have not achieved proficiency in fundamental mathematics by age 16, it is essential that they continue their study of mathematics after age 16.

Our system believes that all students should aim to achieve at least level 2 maths (equivalent to GCSE maths grade 4) by age 19.

The vast majority of post-16 students who fail Level 2 GCSE Maths re-sit GCSE Maths after 16. Remaining study for qualification in Functional Mathematicsⁱⁱ or other accredited qualifications that are designed to validate students’ mathematical knowledge and skills needed for work and to support their further learning.

Requirement “Financing Conditions” for post-16

Current DfE guidance on ‘funding conditions’ after 16 years^III it says:

“Achieving Level 2 qualifications in mathematics and English helps students progress towards further education, training and skilled employment. The Maths and English funding conditions ensure that all 16 to 19 year olds have the best chance of achieving this standard and have the support they need to do so. This is a training requirement and institutions are encouraged to work with students to decide when they are ready to take the exam.”

This means that institutions offering post-16 education will not receive funding for students who do not achieve pass level 2 in maths and English unless those students are supported to work towards their post-16 achievement.

In 2024, more than 170,000 young people failed to achieve a grade 4 in GCSE maths at age 16 and therefore had to continue studying maths after age 16.^iv.

About three quarters^V of these students are taught in further education colleges.

GCSE Maths Revision or Functional Skills?

Entry and Level 1 Functional Skills qualifications, as well as other accredited mathematics qualifications, can work well both as qualifications in their own right and as stepping stones towards Level 2, helping students master fundamental mathematics and helping to boost their self-confidence . However, the goal for these students is to achieve level two in mathematics.

Students who achieve GCSE Maths Grade 3 at age 16 are required by funding rules to retake GCSE Maths rather than take Level 2 Functional Skills or other accredited Level 2 Maths qualifications.^vi. Functional skills and other level 2 maths qualifications score lower on accountability measures than GCSEs.^VII and are pass/fail, so if a student takes Functional Skills at Level 2 and fails, they will not be considered to have made any progress. There is also a perception that it is more difficult to pass Functional Skills Maths Level 2 than to achieve a grade 4 in GCSE Maths. Another factor is that there may be a perception that GCSE qualifications have a higher status than functional skills qualifications. For these reasons, the vast majority of students (more than 90%^viii) who will achieve a Level 2 Mathematics qualification after retaking GCSE Mathematics at age 16.

Problems with retaking GCSE mathematics

Low Score Limits^ix and the high stakes of GCSE maths at 16 means that many students who do not achieve Level 2 at 16 feel like failures and lack sufficient motivation to continue studying maths. Only about a quarter of those who retake GCSE maths achieve level 2 by age 19.

Success rates by age 19 for students without a standard pass are listed below.^X. Assessment standards have been relaxed in 2020, 2021 and 2022 due to the Covid-19 pandemic; The years 2018/19 and 2022/23 therefore present a more typical picture of poor performance in mathematics. Although pass rates have improved, they remain low and below English proficiency rates.

Additionally, in 2022/23, while 45% of those who reached Grade 3 before age 16 had achieved Grade 4 by age 19, the proportion was around 13% for those who achieved Grade 2 before age 16 years, and 3% for those with 1st grade or U under 16 years of age.

The positive from this is that in 2022/23 (latest data available) 25.5%.^xi of those who did not achieve pass level 2 in mathematics by age 16 did so by age 19. That’s about 40,000 students, and achieving Level 2 will open doors to education and/or employment for them. The downside is that every year about 130,000 people confirm their perceived failure.

For some students who do not achieve level 2 maths by age 16, resiting GCSE maths is a good alternative. However, the aim should be for all young people who have not achieved level 2 by age 16 to improve their knowledge, skills and confidence in fundamental mathematics after age 16. A post-16 mathematics qualification should enable these pupils to demonstrate what they know and can do. As discussed in the NCETM Director’s previous blog on assessment, the current edition of GCSE Maths does not achieve this goal.

These issues mean that many students resiting GCSE maths develop the view that the only purpose of studying maths is to pass the exam, and they fail to appreciate its beauty as a discipline in its own right or its value as a powerful transferable skill that will help them achieve success. in life and work.

Potential Improvements

Changes such as those proposed for the secondary school mathematics curriculum and assessment reform in two previous NCETM Director’s blog posts ( here and here ) may improve the situation. Such changes could help more students achieve the fundamental maths knowledge and skills needed to achieve Level 2 by age 16, while also allowing students achieving lower grades to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in maths.

Education charity MEI has developed a post-16 GCSE Maths qualification proposal that is specifically designed to improve the maths knowledge of those students who do not benefit greatly from resitting their current GCSE Maths.^xii. It is proposed to introduce a mathematically rigorous qualification that will be more “adult”. The curriculum is focused directly on students mastering fundamental mathematics and covers in detail its application in life and work. The aim is for students to see the qualification as directly relevant to their preparation for adult life, rather than as a repeat of what they did at school. It has a ‘graded’ assessment built into it, which aims to boost students’ confidence and enable them to demonstrate progress even if they fail to pass Level 2 at the full GCSE exam.

Conclusion

The current approach to post-16 maths education fails many young people who do not achieve grade 4 GCSE maths by age 16. Despite the dedication and effort of teachers in post-16 schools, success rates remain unacceptably low. The system is not just ineffective – it is having a long-term impact on the confidence and future prospects of thousands of students.

GCSE maths retake is not going well^xii and reforms are needed to improve the post-16 mathematics experience of these students. Their math confidence and achievement can be improved by:

• reforming the post-16 level 2 mathematics curriculum to enhance and emphasize the relevance of mathematics to everyday life and work, inspiring students with its practical value.
• restructuring the post-16 level 2 maths assessment to include accredited graded grades to help build students’ confidence
• developing tests that give students the opportunity to demonstrate their mathematical knowledge and skills and recognize their achievements.

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^I AOC Post 16 GCSE English and Maths Results Briefing: August 2024.

ⁱⁱ Functional mathematics skills: subject content – ​​objectives and learning outcomes at levels 1 and 2

^III Financing from 16 to 19 years old: mathematics and English, financing conditions

^iv Ofqual Analytics

^V Explore education statistics and data

^vi Financing from 16 to 19 years old: mathematics and English, financing conditions

^VII 16–18 Accountability Measures: Technical Guidance

^viii Explore education statistics and data

^ix Aligning curriculum and assessment reform with secondary school mathematics instruction (Part 2)

^X Explore education statistics and data

^xi Level 2 and 3, ages 16 to 25, academic year 2022/23

^xii MEI: Mathematics after GCSE 16

^xii Blog: Is it time for a reboot?