Reform school assessment and curriculum

Education & opportunity — Helps

moderate · moderate confidence

This policy would broaden what schools teach and how they assess it, giving arts, vocational, outdoor, and environmental subjects more space alongside traditional exams. The biggest risk is that ending high-stakes testing could reduce accountability and that some reforms — like the Natural History GCSE — may be hard to deliver without adequate teacher training and resources.

The evidence

• The policy proposes to review assessment targets to treat arts and vocational subjects equally and end high-stakes formal testing. — greenparty.org.uk (manifesto) — “Review assessment targets to treat arts and vocational subjects equally, support outdoor play and learning, include climate and biodiversity crisis education, ensure effective delivery of the Natural History GCSE, and en…”
• GCSE and A-level arts entries dropped by 42% between 2010 and 2023, linked to the EBacc performance measure which excludes arts subjects. — campaignforthearts.org (media) — “42% drop in entries to GCSE and A-level arts subjects" between 2010 and 2023”
• Children from affluent backgrounds are three times more likely to participate in arts activities outside school, and working-class representation in the creative industries is at its lowest for a decade. — sheffield.ac.uk (academic) — “working-class representation in the creative industries is at the lowest level for a decade”
• Scrapping the EBacc is expected to reverse the decline in arts entries and encourage broader subject choices. — hepi.ac.uk (academic) — “Scrapping the EBacc, a recommendation made by the Curriculum and Assessment Review (CAR) led by Professor Becky Francis and accepted by the government, is expected to reverse this decline and encourage broader subject ch…”
• Arts education is linked to improved behaviour, better results in English and maths, increased confidence, and can help narrow the attainment gap. — rsc.org.uk (media) — “Arts education is also linked to improved behaviour, better results in English and maths, increased confidence, critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving skills, and can help narrow the attainment gap”
• There is a recognised skills mismatch in the British economy, with only 30% of future jobs requiring a degree yet 68% of young people planning to go to university. — cityandguilds.com (media) — “30% of the future jobs require a degree" yet "68% of young people plan on going to university."”
• Vocational education in the UK suffers from lower investment and esteem, with vocational programmes receiving lower expenditure per student than general programmes. — committees.parliament.uk (government) — “vocational education in the UK suffers from "lower investment, understanding and esteem" compared to general academic routes, with vocational programmes being "less popular" among young students and receiving "lower expe…”
• 92% of schools agreed that outdoor learning improves pupils' health and wellbeing, contributing to their readiness to learn. — forestschoolfinder.co.uk (media) — “92% of schools agreed that outdoor learning improves pupils' health and wellbeing”
• Over half (51%) of those who completed Key Stage 4 exams in summer 2024 found it difficult or very difficult to cope with stress. — commonslibrary.parliament.uk (government) — “over half (51%) of those who completed their Key Stage 4 exams" in summer 2024 found it difficult or very difficult to cope with stress.”
• High-stakes testing is criticised for narrowing the curriculum and 'teaching to the test', and reducing it could free up time for enrichment activities and a more holistic education. — ei-ie.org (media) — “High-stakes testing is often criticised for leading to a "narrowing of the curriculum" and "teaching to the test."”
• Teacher assessments during compulsory education are as reliable and stable as standardised test scores, predicting approximately 90% of differences in exam performance at ages 16 and 18. — acamh.org (media) — “teacher assessments during compulsory education are as reliable, stable and heritable as standardized test scores," predicting "approximately 90% of the differences between pupils in exam performance at ages 16 and 18."”
• Professor John Jerrim found no evidence that Key Stage 2 tests are associated with lower levels of happiness, self-esteem, or children's mental wellbeing, and argues SATs should continue in their current form. — theguardian.com (media) — “Jerrim argues that SATs play a "fundamental role" in school accountability and "should continue in their current form."”
• The Natural History GCSE faces concerns about the cost of teaching it and the need for specialist knowledge and teacher training. — naturepathway.org (media) — “concerns exist regarding the "cost of teaching it" and the need for "specialist knowledge" and teacher training, as current biology and geography teachers may not be fully equipped.”
• The UK faces a green energy skills gap of 200,000 workers, which climate-focused education could help address. — acss.org.uk (media) — “The UK is currently facing a "green energy skills gap of 200,000 workers."”

Biggest unknown: Whether reducing or ending high-stakes formal testing improves or harms attainment and accountability — credible evidence points both ways, and the net effect on standards depends heavily on what replaces those assessments.

Our reading: The policy packages several distinct reforms. On arts and vocational parity, the evidence base is relatively strong: a 42% fall in arts GCSE/A-level entries since 2010, linked explicitly to the EBacc measure the policy targets, is a measurable harm the reform directly addresses. Arts education is also linked — albeit by advocacy-leaning sources — to attainment improvements and narrowing the gap for poorer pupils. The equity dimension matters: working-class students are already under-represented in the creative economy, and broadening access to arts and vocational pathways could modestly improve opportunity for disadvantaged groups. On outdoor learning and climate education, the evidence is largely from sector bodies but consistently positive on child development and wellbeing, and the green skills gap is a documented structural issue. On ending high-stakes testing, the evidence genuinely splits: stress harms are measurable and widely cited, teacher assessments are shown to be comparably reliable, but Jerrim's comparative research finds no wellbeing difference and identifies accountability risks. This is the weakest and most contested plank, though even here the balance of cited evidence leans toward stress reduction benefits, with the accountability risk as a real but unresolved caveat. The Natural History GCSE is welcomed but delivery risks around teacher capacity and cost are explicitly flagged. Overall, the direction of the package is positive for O7 — it expands curriculum breadth, addresses a documented attainment-gap driver (arts exclusion), and responds to skills-economy mismatches. The magnitude is moderate rather than major because implementation risks are real, the testing reform is contested, and most effects are indirect and long-term in nature.