Evaluating 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 GCSE English Exams and Exam Method against Related Curriculum Goals and Stakeholders’ and Experts’ Perceptions

Abstract

Evaluation instigates learning and teaching and is central to them. All elements in the educational process have to be evaluated, including the evaluation of exams and related exam methods. This study aimed at evaluating the Egyptian GCSE English exam and exam method against GCSE curriculum goals and stakeholders’ (i.e. teachers’ and students’) perceptions of the exams. The study adopted a qualitative approach: a fixed alternative questionnaire and a semi-structured E-interview both administered to participant experts and practitioner teachers (n 50 and 5, respectively), and it also incorporated designing and using another questionnaire (in two versions) administered to GCSE graduates: 50 for the school year 2020-2021 and 100 for the 2021-2022. Results revealed that certain curriculum language skills and elements were absent, and the vast majority of them were under-represented and improperly addressed. Even, the curriculum novel content was covered inappropriately. It was then found out that the exams had few strengths and many weaknesses, regarding the question type, language skill and language element representation/coverage, exam nature and appropriateness for students, incompliance with curriculum and OBD. Other exam implications were covered. Plans and recommendations for intervention included inclusion of performance-based questions for three language skills and the translation element, coverage of grammar and vocabulary, inclusion of language functions and idioms, variation of question types appropriate for language skill/element, and commitment to the OBE approach in the exams as well as to research.