Several speakers drew attention to the problems with GCSEs in particular.  Specifically, they drew attention to how the exams were:

• Failing too many young people – Geoff Barton, head of the Association of School and College Leaders and a member of the Rethinking Assessment advisory group, noted that a third of young people are labelled failures by the GCSE system.  He argued that the government’s grade targets were making it harder for young people to achieve their potential.
• Proving irrelevant to workforce performance – Euan Blair, founder of apprenticeships firm, Multiverse, spoke about the limits to what he called an “obsession” with academic markers.  He argues that grades secured at GCSE make little difference to performance during apprenticeships and that what matters is how you apply learning in the field.  
• Being based on outdated science – Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, professor of psychology at the University of Cambridge and member of the Rethinking Assessment advisory group also queried the appropriateness of exam stress at such a young age.  She argues that GCSEs were designed around the outdated belief that the human brain had finished developing by the time people reach 16.  We now know that our development can continue well into our 20s.
• Losing currency with employers – PwC’s UK chairman, Kevin Ellis, claimed that employers increasingly favour their own assessments rather than rely on GCSE and A-Level results.  He stressed that the current exam system does not assess the skills that stand the test of time: empathy, resilience and agility.