You just can’t keep Michael Gove down. After beating a very public retreat by u-turning on plans to replace GCSEs earlier this year, he’s announced today the all-new I-level qualifications. I-Levels will be graded 1-8 — with a current A* roughly equal to a 7 — and will take on much of his English Baccalaureate plans, including a greatly reduced significance on coursework and limited resits.
The Baccalaureate was a rare defeat for the most fervent of cabinet ministers. Back then, he told the Daily Mail his exam reforms were a ‘step too far’, but it now appears Gove was still determined to get his own way. Following the GCSE English marking disaster last summer, the secondary exam systems has been waiting for a radical rethink and toughening up. The I-Levels appear to be just that.
The new exams will be in place for 2015 and by then, our education system will be almost indistinguishable from the one Gove inherited. Labour’s response demonstrates how they are still unsure how to deal with Gove. Stephen Twigg has snakily said that ‘changing letters to numbers and the name of the exams is hardly the key to higher standards’. Instead, ‘this needs a rigorous focus on English and Maths’. If Twigg sifted through the I-level proposals, he would find this is exactly what Gove is doing. English exams for example will have a new speaking and listening element to replace coursework.
Politically, the announcement reinforces what Benedict Brogan says in his Telegraph column today. Gove is now an expert at wielding politics with a ‘deadly thrust’, taking no prisoners. He also appears to have learnt the value of playing the long game to get his own way. Critically, it is Ofqual not the Department of Education announcing the I-Levels. Although Ofqual has dismissed some of Gove’s plans, all his major suggestions have been taken up. The Education Secretary will still have to bring the teachers onside, as polling last October suggested only 23 per cent supported EBacc plans and 48 per cent were opposed. The third that stated they were unsure are the ones he has to win over.
Labour’s response also shows the power of a Tory who can perplex and instil confusion inside their own party. It’s easy to see why, as Brogan writes today, George Osborne is now aligning himself as a wingman for a future Gove premiership. Watch out Boris, the BoGo partnership is far from a done deal.
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