Ofqual: GCSE coursework 'is facing the axe' It followed a study published by the Department for Education earlier this year which found some teachers were using "strategies to help students to get the best grade," including allowing pupils to rehearse projects in advance. Others were also setting more than one task before "choosing the best for each individual student," it was revealed. The Government has already indicated that it is likely to scrap controlled assessment as part of new plans to replace GCSEs in the core subjects with English Baccalaureate Certificates. The new exams will be sat in 2017. But in a speech to the Independent Academies Association, Ms Stacey said changes to coursework "cannot wait for the big reforms that are coming," adding: "They need reviewing now to improve the current system." She said that the "practical arrangements for [controlled assessment] can be difficult and, in some subjects, it eats unduly into teaching and learning time." "We are concerned as well about... the proportion of controlled assessment in some subjects and about the design of controlled assessment in some cases as well," she said. Ms Stacey said she was also "concerned about whether controlled assessment can differentiate sufficiently between students and provide stretch and challenge." Coursework was overhauled in most GCSE subjects in 2009 amid widespread concerns over cheating. Pupils are now required to complete projects in class under exam-style conditions. Controlled assessment accounts for between 25 and 60 per cent of marks, although some subjects such as maths rely completely on exams. But Ofqual research has already raised concerns that the system has resulted in a drop in the amount of teaching time, a reduction in school trips and problems finding classroom space and equipment to run the assessments. Addressing head teachers at the IAA annual conference in north London, Ms Stacey said: "We want arrangements to be able to withstand the pressures of accountability."