Replace GCSE maths resits with new foundation course, says OECD

The government should replace GCSE maths resits with a new foundation level course, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has said after warning the “bar is unachievably high” for some students to pass.

The organisation, which runs the influential PISA tests, today published a report analysing the performance and participation of maths in England.

It found England’s share of young people studying maths up to the age of 18 is among the lowest in the OECD’s 38 member countries – in part due to a “limited range” of options for continuing the subject in post-16 education.

The report comes amid the government’s curriculum and assessment review, which FE Week understands will make a recommendation on whether to continue with the current forced resits policy for 16-year-olds who fail to achieve a grade 4 pass in GCSE maths.

Chaired by Becky Francis, the call for evidence for the review runs until November 22.

Here are the main points from today’s OECD report.

Low post-16 maths participation

The OECD found that at least half of students typically study maths to 18 across most of the organisation’s member countries, compared with just 16.5 per cent of 16-18-year-olds in England.

Data used in the report for 2018/19 showed almost a third (29.8 per cent) of students studying maths at 16 to 18 were those who did not have at least a grade 4 at GCSE and are required to continue studying the subject as a condition of funding.

‘Unnecessarily high bar’

The high share of young people not attaining a grade 4/C in GCSE maths – almost a third in 2023 – “might suggest that the bar is unachievably high for some students”, the OECD said.

It found that the breadth and depth of maths GCSE is comparable to other mathematics programmes reviewed for this report – such as the “basic scope mathematics” in Poland and the “H1” mathematics in Singapore.

However, England’s students taking GCSEs are “comparatively younger” than their counterparts in Poland and Singapore as they have just two years to cover the GCSE content from age 14 to 16, compared to four years in other countries.

The report said that while setting high and demanding expectations for students is “important”, it is also “critical” that expectations are “achievable and reflect the mathematics that young people are likely to need in work and education post-schooling”. 

Limited choices 

In England, students who do continue with maths after age 16 take the subject at A-level and are usually “very high performers”, suggesting that the options “cater to a small elite group”. 

In 2015, England introduced Core Maths to meet the needs of a wider range of young people who wish to continue studying maths until 18 but participation “remains low”. In 2023, just 1.9 per cent of 19-year-olds achieving a post-16 or level 3 qualification achieved Core Maths.

There was no mention of England’s functional skills offer in the OECD’s report.

Canada, Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, and Singapore were highlighted by the OECD for providing a “far wider range” of different maths levels and options to “serve varied interests, needs and future aspirations among students”.

The report said: “Importantly, the diverse range of options to continue engaging with mathematics until the end of upper secondary creates a perception and expectation that the subject is for everyone.

“In these systems, mathematics is not compulsory for the duration of upper secondary education for all students, yet participation rates are high, with around at least half of young people continuing to study maths until the end of upper secondary, and sometimes almost all students choosing to do so.”

Foundation course should replace resits

The report found systems in multiple other countries provide a maths programme or course at a lower level of demand than England’s foundation tier maths GCSE. 

These include systems with “strong” performance and participation in maths such as Austria, Denmark and Singapore. 

The OECD said providing maths that is “more accessible” could help to improve motivation and engagement in England.

It recommended that policymakers review maths options to “ensure that they meet the needs of at least three different student profiles” across 16 to 18s.

The government should consider a “foundational level course for those who do not achieve at least grade C/4 at GCSE to continue building their core mathematics knowledge and skills (replacing GCSE re-sits),” the report said.