Michael Gove announces GCSE reform plans: Politics live blog Michael Gove, the education secretary, is today announcing plans to reform GCSEs in England. Alert readers may feel that we've been here before and, of course, you're right. By my count, this is the fourth time we've had a statement about this in the Commons. Here is a potted history. In June 2012 the Daily Mail published a story saying that Gove wanted to bring back O-levels. Many people, including Lib Dems in the coalition, were strongly opposed to the idea of reintroducing a two-tier examination system (because the Mail said there could also be a return to CSEs, the lesser qualification for pupils not deemed capable of O-levels), but Gove strongly defended this general approach when he answered an urgent question in the Commons. He said he would formally publish his plans in due course. In September 2012 Gove announced formal plans for the first time. He said he would abolish GCSEs and replace them with another exam, the English baccalaureate certificate. Much of what he announced was consistent with what he said in June, but in at least one respect there were elements of a U-turn; there was no more talk of a return to a two-tier system. Gove presented his plan as a joint initiative with Nick Clegg. In February 2013 Gove presented a revised version of his plans in a statement to the Commons. It was billed as a U-turn (or a second U-turn), because he said that he had given up plans to rename the new exam the English baccalaureate certificate, and there were other significant changes too, such as his abandoning plans to have just one exam board for every subject. But he retained his overall intention of making the system more rigorous. And today we're getting the latest instalment of this saga. For those collecting Gove U-turns, you could argue that this as a new one because last week there were suggestions the new exam would be called the I-level, but now that idea seems to have been dropped. There is a preview of what Gove will announce here. And here is what Gove himself has said in an article for the Times (paywall). For years our exam system has been designed to serve the interests of one group of adults: ministers. Under Labour, they boasted about ever increasing numbers of passes and took the credit for themselves. But children have been let down. They've been working harder than ever. But the exam system hasn't worked for them. Thanks to changes introduced under the previous Government, exams became duller for students and less informative for colleges and employers. Tests have been chopped up into disconnected modules that encourage cram-and-forget preparation. Teaching has, in some cases, been twisted into an exercise in passing on exam technique. An over-reliance on coursework has corrupted the credibility of grades. And the bunching of our young people around A and A* grades makes it more difficult to identify the genuine spread of talent ... What made things worse is that children from wealthier homes were insulated from ministers" mistakes. In some private schools, children took international exams. Teachers enjoyed teaching because they had the freedom to cover a whole syllabus. Students enjoyed learning rather than being drilled, and emerged better prepared for A levels or apprenticeships. The GCSE reforms we're making today borrow and build on the best practice in those more rigorous exams. Today I'll be covering the Gove announcement in detail, and all the reaction to it. Here's the full agenda for the day. 9.30am: Monitor, the NHS Confederation and the Local Government Association give evidence to the Commons health committee about the implementation of the NHS reforms. 9.30am: Lucy Scott-Moncrieff, president of the Law Society, Bill Waddington, chair of the Criminal Law Solicitors Association, Michael Turner QC, chair of the Criminal Bar Association, Maura McGowan, chair of the Bar Council and Elisabeth Davies, chair of the Legal Services Consumer Panel, give evidence to the Commons justice committee on legal aid reforms. 9.30am: Edward Timpson, the education minister, gives evidence to the education committee on the Olympic legacy for school sports. 9.45am: Former residents of the Chagos Islands hear a high court judgment in the latest stage of their legal battle to be allowed home. 10.30am: Peter Wright, editor emeritus of Associated Newspapers, gives evidence to the Commons culture committee on press regulation. 11am: The Crown Prosecution Service announces new guidelines on prosecuting child sex abus cases. 12.30pm: Michael Gove, the education secretary, is making a statement in the Commons on his GCSE reforms. 12.30pm: Assistant chief constable Gary Cann from the Association of Chief Police Officers, and Tom Hawthon and Tony Stafford from the Electoral Commission are among the witnesses giving evidence to an all-party inquiry into electoral conduct. 12.30pm: Boris Johnson launches his 2020 Vision plan for London. 1.30pm: David Heath, the environment minister, gives evidence to the Commons environment committee on food contamination. As usual, I'll also be covering all the breaking political news as well as looking at the papers and bringing you the best politics from the web. I'll post a lunchtime summary at before 1pm, and another in the afternoon. If you want to follow me on Twitter, I'm on @AndrewSparrow.