“We have a number of concerns about the resit process for English and maths and this is a very valuable piece of research. One of the issues identified in this report is that many resit students have had negative experiences with English or maths in the past, and that this makes preparing and motivating them for resits more challenging. It would surely be sensible then to focus on preventing these negative experiences in the first place, rather than how they can be overcome down the line.
“We therefore think it is time for a fundamental rethink in how we assess English and maths. We think that new proficiency tests should be developed for literacy and numeracy that demonstrate to future employers or educators that students meet a set of pre-determined standards, while giving every young person the dignity of a qualification. Crucially, these tests could be taken when the student is ready, rather than being dictated by the existing resit cycles.
“We fully support calls for a 16-19 student premium, matching the system already in place for younger pupils, in order help address educational inequalities that persist within the post-16 sector.”