02 EDUCATION NEWS by Jasleen Dhillon, Executive Assistant – Education Policy and Practice


THE EXCHANGE


East Asian countries continue to outperform others in mathematics and science


Asian countries have continued to dominate rankings in mathemat- ics and science, whilst England showed strong performance but little short-term improvement. These were the findings of the IEA's latest Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), which assessed 57 countries on their performance in mathematics and science for 10- and 14-year-old pupils. More than 600,000 students around the world participated in the study, which has taken place every four years since 1995.


Singapore topped all four of the rankings, and pupils from that country were also found to have positive attitudes towards learning. England showed marginal improvement in the last five years, but was still ranked among the countries showing the best sustained improve- ments in science in the last 20 years.


In maths, England held 10th position for Year 5 pupils, falling behind


Recent changes to THE EXCHANGE (continued from front page)


WHAT’S ON A look at national days and information about how to take part. HfL will also be sharing this on its social media sites so be sure to follow these @HertsLearning. This edition includes information on British Science Week as well as ten other events happening soon. Read more: Page 15.


CONFERENCES Herts for Learning hosts many conferences throughout the year and with plenty happening this term, check out page 16 for those that can't be missed.


Our design team have also given a fresh look to our training course pages making it easy to explore all available training courses in an easy-to-read calendar. This month’s include courses from February half term to the end of March. Pages 8–9.


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Students and parents struggle to get to grips with new grading system


Research from Ofqual has revealed that more than two thirds of students and parents do not understand the 9–1 grading scale that will replace the A*–G system for GCSE.


The new system comes into effect for the first time in summer 2017, after students sit exams in the reformed English, English literature and maths GCSEs. Students will be awarded a grade between 9 and 1, with 9 as the top grade and 1 as the lowest.


Ofqual chief regulator Sally Collier said she did not want there to be “any surprises” this summer, stating: “It’s really important that we spread the word that GCSE grades are changing from letters to numbers, and explain why.”


A spokesman said the new numerical grades would be a clear signal to employers, colleges and universities that students have taken the reformed, more challenging GCSEs.


"Our GCSE reforms will create gold-standard qualifications


that match the best education systems in the world and allow young people to compete in an increasingly global workplace.


"We continue to work closely with the sector to ensure they understand what the changes will mean for them when they come into effect later this year," said the spokesman.


The research also states that more than 84 per cent of human resources (HR) professionals and 76 per cent of small-business owners are currently unaware of what the new grades will be worth.


In response to this, schools are encouraged to visit the Ofqual website and add text to newsletters and other external communication, to inform parents and students of the changes. Sample paragraphs can be accessed here: http://bit.ly/9to1newsletter


To read the full exclusive report, from TES, please visit: http://bit.ly/TE-9to1Grading


PA Plus new resources


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Early Years • EY data assessment forms


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Ireland, Norway, Russia, Northern Ireland and the top five dominat- ing countries:


Singapore. For Year 9 pupils, England ranked 11th by Kazakhstan. In science, England’s Year 5 pupils hold 15th position.


Japan, Chinese Taipei, South Korea, Hong Kong and in maths, overtaken position,


with Finland and Russia sitting high along with the top five East Asian countries. English pupils in Year 9 science pulled their performance up, taking 8th


The study revealed that English pupils experience a good balance of academic achievement with relatively high levels of school enjoyment, particularly in comparison with East Asian countries. More Year 5 and Year 9 pupils in England viewed teaching as being very engaging than their peers in the five highest-performing countries.


Further details of the TIMSS results can be found here: http://timss2015.org/


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