The Sunday Times reports that Michael Gove aims to abolish coursework for almost all GCSEs and A-levels. Claiming that Government attempts to restore confidence in continuous assessment had failed, Mr Gove believes that "the rise of the internet has led to increasing problems of plagiarism and there have been accusations that teachers provide too much assistance to pupils."
In an article for the newspaper the Shadow Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families also makes a stout defence of league tables:
"The school league tables, which will be published later this week, give us the chance to pose awkward questions: why some schools perform poorly. And why more schools don’t emulate the best… Opponents of league tables say they generate an unnecessarily competitive environment. The truth is the world economy has become a desperately competitive environment – and unless we do everything we can to improve educational performance, especially for our poorest children, then we’re destined to fall further and further behind."
Within the article Mr Gove suggests ways of improving league tables. The Conservatives have already proposed a national reading test for six and seven year-olds.