There are plans for changes to the examination system at age 16 in England. The Secretary of State said in the House of Commons that these reforms were radical, and others commented that they composed the biggest change in the examination system in a generation. This warrants an analysis of the research literature relevant to the proposals. And this is exactly what has been done in this report by the Oxford University Centre for Educational Assessment.
The report gives a good overview on the different aspects of the proposed reform and is quite insightful also for people (and reformers) in other countries, e.g. teacher assessment. The topics that are being examined are:
Section 1: International test scores show no decline
Section 2: Grade inflation at GCSE has not been established
Section 3: Raising standards
Section 4: Knowing what is expected
Section 5: Aspiration and motivation
Section 6: Modular examinations
Section 7: Ensuring the validity of end of course assessments
Section 8: Teacher assessment
Section 9: Assessing the whole ability range