| Abstract: | Using evidence from a two‐year case study of teachers in a comprehensive school who were implementing the new GCSE examination in English, we explore the origins and development of two dilemmas. Opting to join a large consortium of schools using teacher‐based, criterion‐referenced, continuous assessment, the staff faced these different but interrelated questions. (1) As individuals, could they maintain the motivation of their classes if, early in the course, pupils could guess their ultimate grades? (2) As collegiate agents of the grading process, could they standardise their varied, individual assessments in line with GCSE expectations? We argue that the strategies teachers developed reflected the dilemmas they faced. The dilemmas derived from contradictions built into the course. |
