International General
Certificate of Secondary Education
The International General Certificate of Secondary Education
(IGCSE) is an English language curriculum offered to students to prepare them
for International Baccalaureate, A Level and BTEC Level 3 (which is recommended
for higher-tier students). It is based on the GCE O-Level and is recognised as
being equivalent to the GCSE.
The IGCSE was
developed by University of Cambridge International Examinations. The
examination board Edexcel offers its own version, the Edexcel International
GCSE. Students begin learning the syllabus at the beginning of year 10(Grade 9)
and take the test at the end of year 11(Grade 10).
The IGCSE is an
international alternative to many popular national curricula. the IGCSE is not
a group award or "certificate of education". It is a qualification
based on individual subjects of study, which means that one receives an
"IGCSE" qualification for each subject one takes. For this reason,
schools worldwide have different expectations about how many IGCSEs students
should take. Typical "core" curricula for IGCSE candidates include a
First Language, Second Language, Mathematics and one or more subjects in the
Sciences. IGCSE candidates can choose a number of additional courses ranging
from Social Sciences to Creative Arts.
The IGCSE is
predominantly exam-based, meaning they are not actual certified
"courses", but rather exams that test knowledge in individual
subjects in the same way as Advanced Placement exams and SAT Subject Tests. For
this reason, it is also a viable option for many home-schooling educators or in
Adult education, when one is seeking a qualification but has no time to attend
full-time school classes.
Its academic worth is
comparable to many secondary school curricula worldwide, such as England's
GCSE, the North American GED or high school diploma, Hong Kong's HKCEE,[1]
Singapore's O-Level,[2] and the Indian CBSE or ICSE courses. The IGCSE prepares
students for further academic study, including progression to A Level and BTEC
Level 3 study, Cambridge Pre-U, IB Diploma Programme and other equivalents. It
is recognised by academic institutions and employers around the world and is
considered by many institutions as equivalent to the standard GCSE.
Cambridge IGCSE
provides a broad and flexible study program and covers subjects from a variety
of areas: Languages, Humanities, Social Sciences, Mathematics, Creative,
Technical and Vocational. Most IGCSE subjects offer a choice of tiered
examinations: Core or Extended papers (in Cambridge), and Foundation or Higher
papers (in Edexcel). This is designed to make IGCSE suitable for students with
varying levels of ability. In some subjects, IGCSE can be taken with or without
coursework. Cambridge IGCSE allows teaching to be placed in a localized
context, making it relevant in different regions. It is intended to be suitable
for students whose first language may not be English and this is acknowledged
throughout the examination process.
Cambridge IGCSEs are
studied in more than 70 subjects by students in over 120 countries and regions
worldwide,
Grading, courseload, and
awarding
The IGCSE is graded on an 8-point scale from A* to G with a 9th
grade "U" signifying "Ungraded". This measure of grading is
also found in the UK GCSE .
Previously, the "A*" grade in the GCSE did not exist, but was later
added to recognise the very top end of achievement. In the case of Further
Mathematics an extra A^ grade was added for students that can "demonstrate
sustained performance in higher-level maths skills such as reasoning, proof and
problem-solving.".
International schools around the world normally allow students
to study anywhere from 5 to 14 IGCSE subjects. Like the situation in the
English Baccalaureate, 5 core subject passes at C or above is the minimum
required.
The Cambridge examination board offers an ICE (International
Certificate of Education) group qualification for candidates who achieve 7
subject passes A*-C across the following groups:
·
Group I: Languages
·
Group II: Humanities
and Social Sciences
·
Group III: Sciences
·
Group IV: Mathematics
·
Group V: Creative,
Technical and Vocational
The ICE is awarded in three grades: Distinction, Merit and Pass.
It requires 2 passes in Languages, and one pass in every other group whilst the
seventh subject be in any group to be qualified for an award.
In addition, to award top candidates with the uppermost
achievement, Cambridge awards "Outstanding Achievement Awards" in the
categories of "top in country", and "top in world" for each
subject
Recognition and equivalence
The
qualification is recognized by institutions in the world. Many students
finishing the IGCSE move on to post-16 study, in preparation for exams such as
the A-Levels. or
directly onto vocational education.
United Kingdom
Recognition
and accreditation of the IGCSE in the UK is growing. As of now, only
independent schools can easily offer IGCSE subjects, though the Office of
Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) is allowing
more use of IGCSE subjects in state-funded schools. Ofqual allows the use of
Cambridge IGCSE exams under the name of "Cambridge International
Certificates".
So
far, 16 Cambridge IGCSE syllabuses received UK government accreditation.
Following that, the UK government announced that the 16 accredited Cambridge
IGCSE syllabuses would also be funded in state-maintained schools. Since then
Cambridge IGCSE German and Spanish have also been accredited and funded, taking
the total number of accredited and funded Cambridge IGCSEs to 18. For
accreditation purposes, the syllabuses are referenced as "Cambridge
International Certificates" in the UK, although they are known across the
world as Cambridge IGCSEs. The IGCSE is offered by two examination boards in
the UK, one being Edexcel, and the other one being AQA.
The
UK Government’s School Performance Tables included the percentage of students
who received the new English Baccalaureate (EBacc). It is awarded to pupils who
achieve A*-C grade passes at GCSE, or IGCSE, in maths, English, the sciences, a
language, and geography or history. Cambridge IGCSEs were the only IGCSEs to be
included in the first EBacc. Cambridge IGCSE Biology, Chemistry, English,
French, Geography, German, Greek, Hindi, History, Mathematics and Spanish all
count towards the measure. More Cambridge IGCSE subjects will count towards the
EBacc next year following
their accreditation by Ofqual and subsequent funding in state schools. Over 500
UK schools, including 200 from the state sector and 438 independent schools, offer
IGCSEs in the UK, and it is popular worldwide. In independent,ISCmember schools, 38.7% of exams
were IGCSEs.
United States
While
the number of North American schools offering the IGCSE remains small,
some homeschooling educators
are said to be choosing the IGCSE instead of a typical North American high school
curriculum. According to many of these educators, the IGCSE curriculum may be
more advanced than a typical North American secondary school course by at least
one year.
The
bi-national, jointly-funded US-UK Fulbright commission under the United States' Fulbright
Program suggests that GPA conversions can be done to allow for
the differences between the GCSE (8-point) and US (5-point) grading scales.
Though
this equivalence between an IGCSE and a US high school diploma exists and there
are US colleges and universities which accept IGCSEs for admission,the
Fulbright commission advises students who have completed their IGCSEs at 16 to
take the GED test
as well, if they plan to directly enter North American universities without
holding post-16 qualifications, such as the IB Diploma, A-Levels and BTEC Level 3 qualifications.
Singapore
The
IGCSE Board is predominantly used in International schools such as UWCSEA, Tanglin Trust School and a few others as
an alternative to the local 'O'LevelExam.
Exams
The
IGCSE exams are conducted in the months of February(India only), May and
October every year, the exam papers are sent to the United Kingdom to be marked
and the results come out in May, August and January respectively. There is an
exam fee of £80 for every exam written, this cost may vary depending on the
country in which the test was taken in.
Controversy
The
board has been criticized being both too tough, as courses such as Physics,
Chemistry, and Biology allegedly require much more time and effort compared to
other comparable courses, or too lenient, thanks to the tendency of the exam
board to bound the test.
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