How Defensible are Current Trends in GCSE Mathematics to Replace Teacher-assessed Coursework by Examinations?

The General Certificateof Secondary Education (GCSE) in mathematics is designed to measure not only the mathematical knowledge of candidates, but also their ability to use mathematicsas a mode of inquiry. A number of British Awarding Bodies with large candidatures now offer GCSE Mathematics Syllabus B as an alternative to Syllabus A. The two assessment frameworks are identical except in their approach to the assessment of mathematical inquiry: Syllabus A uses teacher-assessed coursework while Syllabus B uses a timed, written examination. Given that the machinery which assures the reliabilityof coursework (exemplardissemination, in-service training and moderation) makes significant demands on teacher time and on the financial resources of the awarding bodies, it is important to test the measurement equivalence of the assessment frameworks of these two syllabi. A confirmatory factor analysis of the GCSE score profiles of 1656Syllabus A and 1741 Syllabus B candidatesis used to rejectthe hypothesis that tests can replace teacher-assessed coursework in GCSE mathematics. It is argued that the curricular advances of the last decade could be reversed should this freedom to opt for coursework or examination prompt a wholesale replacement of school project work by tests.