Education written question – answered at on 25 November 2013.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will meet teachers' and parents' representatives about the possibility of continuing with November entry for mathematics for Year 11 students.
Department for Education Ministers have met representative groups, including the Association of School and College Leaders and the National Association of Head Teachers, to discuss the changes to the way that qualifications count towards performance measures. Ministers have also met with a number of individual head teachers.
Our decision to count only a pupil's first entry does not prevent schools from entering pupils for GCSE mathematics in November, if they believe they are adequately prepared to gain the best possible result. The changes will make sure that schools do not enter pupils early when it is not in the pupil's best interests.
Evidence published by the Department for Education in 2011 showed that pupils who enter early do worse than pupils who do not, even when taking prior attainment into account. A report by Ofsted corroborated many of these concerns, raising issues with the impact of early entry on students.
The Department's announcement on early entry, and both reports, can be accessed at the following web address:
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