The long-awaited Exam Standards Committee report covering 2022 has just been released and can be found on the RSGB website: RSGB ESC Reports.
This is the first set of exam data since Covid, and also shows the impact of the controversial RSGB 2019 syllabus update.
Here are the headlines:
- Enrolment on exams in 2022 was down 28% on 2021, with Foundation settling back to pre-Covid levels
- Pass rates have decreased slightly
- Pass rate for Intermediate has dropped from 94% to 86% since the introduction of Syllabus 2019, achieving the RSGB’s objectives of reducing the number of people progressing from Foundation to Intermediate.
- Only 20.6% of students progressed from Foundation to Intermediate (a fall from 50% in 2020)
- 4.5% of candidates were under 20 years old. Just 5.4% of all candidates identified as female
- Clubs were able to train throughout 2022, but in-person exams are way down, with the vast majority taking exams online
This graph, from the report, shows a return to a pre-Covid level for Foundation, and a drop at Intermediate, likely due to the toughening of the Intermediate exam.
Essex Ham is heavily involved with training, and to us, the greatest issue highlighted is the progression rate – people moving from Foundation to Intermediate is at a 10-year low. Before the syllabus change, 50% moved up to Intermediate – now it’s 20%. The RSGB report says that “may be a cause for concern” …
The report highlights some other interesting areas, and the Essex Ham team will be discussing this within the HamTrain community (over 200 UK trainers). If you’re a trainer, keep an eye out for more comment on this report in the November 2023 HamTrain newsletter.
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