This article presents findings on students' views and experiences of tiering in Northern Ireland and Wales from a children's rights perspective. It considers the extent to which tiering fulfils the rights to education, best interests, non-discrimination, and participation under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. It emphasises that while…

The use of internal assessment within GCSE qualifications has always aroused controversy, primarily because of concerns about the authorship of students' work. This has led to tighter controls and a reduction in its use over the last decade. The paper argues that the focus on the authentication of student work has neglected other aspects of…

This paper uses data from a mixed-methods research project which explored the views and experiences of students in Northern Ireland and Wales on the assessment and reform of GCSEs. The research found that while students were generally supportive of the substance of the reforms in each region, they raised concerns about the rapid pace of reform,…

This paper presents data that consider ways in which young people experience the curriculum through the lens of subject examination syllabuses (for GCSEs), their associated assessment techniques and structures, and educational policies at national and school level concerning subject choice. Drawing upon an original qualitative dataset from a…