Teens Want England's Exam System To Change. Teachers Say It's Not That Simple

Children and teens are increasingly struggling to cope as a result of England’s school exam system, a mental health charity has warned. 

YoungMinds claimed exam stress is one of many factors contributing to record numbers of young people seeking mental health support.

Its survey of 1,000 15-18-year-olds taking GCSE or A-Levels this summer found said they 63% found it hard to cope in the lead up to, and during, GCSE and A Level exams.

Of these,  13% had suicidal thoughts  and 13% self-harmed. More than half (56%) had trouble sleeping .

Among those struggling, 61% experienced anxiety and 40% worsening mental health, while 30% skipped meals and one in four (26%) had panic attacks. 

The research also found exams were more than twice as likely to have a significant negative impact on mental health than social media.

The charity isn’t the first to link exams and poor mental health. Last year, a survey by the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) revealed more than three-quarters of teachers had reported seeing mental health issues related to exam anxiety in their Year 11 students over the previous year. Childline is also witnessing a rise in calls about exam stress.

And it’s not just teens who are affected. In a separate YoungMinds survey, children aged 10-11 sitting their year 6 SATs reported similar struggles – over half (56%) of children said sitting the tests was the first time they really worried about their abilities.

Just over a quarter (28%) said SATs made them feel bad about themselves and 35% said the exams made them feel ill. 

What are other countries in the UK doing?

England is the only country in the UK where children take SATs, according to the Good School Guide. The Standard Assessment Tests (SATs), which focus on English and Maths, are taken in year 6. Some schools also have them in year 2 (although that’s at the school and local authority’s discretion). Teens also sit their GCSEs and A Levels.

SATs used to be taken in Wales however they were phased out and replaced with personalised assessments in reading and numeracy. There are no formal exams in Wales up until teens take their GCSEs and then A Levels. 

In Northern Ireland, skills are assessed using Levels of Progression (LoP) at the end of key stage 1, 2 and 3. There are no exams, however, until secondary school when teens take their GCSEs and then can sit A Levels. 

And lastly, in Scotland, children have assessments throughout school however these aren’t formal tests, like SATs. Kids don’t have to revise or prepare for these assessments (called National Standardised Assessments for Scotland, or NSA) – and there’s no pass or fail. The assessments are carried out as part of everyday learning.

From the age of 14 onwards, Scottish teens then take National 4s and 5s (similar to GCSEs) and then Highers and Advanced Highers (like AS and A Levels).

Should the exam system change?

According to the YoungMinds’ research, in collaboration with More Than A Score, young people overwhelmingly want to see changes made to the exam system, with almost three-quarters (74%) of 15-18-year-olds saying exams should be reformed to improve mental health. 

Paddy, 20, said taking his A Levels exacerbated his mental health condition – and he still has nightmares about it. 

“From the start of year 13, I found it difficult to think about anything other than exams,” he said. “At school I would hardly eat anything as I was so focused on studying. The exams massively heightened my OCD. It seemed to know these exams were incredibly important to me, and it went on the attack.”

The night before one exam, he had a “complete breakdown and could not stop crying”.

The YoungMinds Activist continued: “The pressure was enormous, and I felt like I was drowning in the sea of pressure. Two years after finishing my exams, I still have nightmares about them, imagining I am back in the exam hall.”

YoungMinds’ Missing the Mark campaign is calling on the government to end SATs in primary school and reduce the focus on end-of-year exams for GCSEs and A Levels by introducing different types of assessment tailored to subject need. 

A Department for Education spokesperson told HuffPost UK: “We are committed to high and rising standards and exams play an important role in maintaining a fair and trusted qualifications system.

“We recognise that exams, like other things in life such as job interviews, can be stressful.

“We are clear that schools and colleges should encourage pupils to work hard, but not at the expense of their wellbeing and the support provided by schools should help pupils manage this stress.”

A government review is considering whether “there are opportunities to reduce the overall volume of exams at key stage 4 without compromising the reliability of results”, they added.

Under government plans, all pupils will also have access to mental health support in school by 2029/30.

What do teachers think?

Chantelle Dyson, a former head of year and key stage 3 maths coordinator, told HuffPost UK “we need an assessment system that’s fair, rigorous, but also a bit more human too”. 

She pointed to a change to GCSEs in 2015 where coursework was reduced in favour of more exams and the content itself became more challenging. 

SATs papers have become equally difficult, with Dyson saying there’s even reference to “subordinate clauses” and “preposition phrases” in some exam questions.

But on the flip side, Dyson noted there could be problems if assessments were less formal and rigorous as a child could have a top score in a subject and then go to secondary school and they’re “nowhere near that grade”.

Piling on more coursework “poses even more problems”, especially with AI at pupils’ disposal, the teacher suggested. Although she noted the format of coursework could change, where projects are completed within class hours only with school computer access that could block AI tools.

But not everyone thinks exams are to blame – Alex Crossman, executive head of The London Academy of Excellence, believes we should be looking at other factors impacting kids. 

“We’ve had terminal exams much longer than we’ve had an adolescent mental health crisis,” he told HuffPost UK.

“For many students, exam stress is piled on top of other factors – social anxiety, peer pressure, the toxic effects of over-exposure to social media, and more – that make them vulnerable. Schools need to focus on the wider context as much as they do exams.”

He added that schools should encourage students to put exams “in their proper perspective” which means “paying proper attention to their own wellbeing at this time of year and not burning out”.

“It also means recognising that other qualities and experiences may count as much as, or more than, formal qualifications in deciding how a young person’s future will unfold,” he explained.

Like Dyson, the headteacher also suggested AI is causing teachers a headache, with its widespread use forcing “schools and exam boards into a defensive crouch in which only in-person assessments under controlled conditions are regarded as reliable indicators of students’ achievement”.