<sod>GCSEs were first introduced in 1988<ref>{{cite book |title=Contemporary Debates in Education: An Historical Perspective |last=Brooks |first=Ron |year=1991 |publisher=Routledge |location=New York |isbn=978-0-582-05797-5 |ol=1863538M |chapter=A decade and more of debate |pages=21-23 |url={{Google books|MGagBAAAQBAJ|page=21|plainurl=yes}}}}</ref> to establish a national qualification for school-leavers who decided to leave school at 16 and not to pursue further academic studies and qualifications such as A-Levels or university degrees. They were introduced to replace former British educational credentials such as the CSE (Certificate of Secondary Education) and the [[GCE Ordinary Level (United Kingdom)|O-Level]] qualifications, which had been criticised for failing the bottom 42% of O-level entrants and the brightest CSE entrants. The former failed to achieve a qualification, despite being identified as being in the top 30% academically, and the latter failed to offer a means to differentiate the achievement of the brightest CSE candidates. A single merged qualification was proposed that would resolve these issues by utilising an extended alphabetic grading system, with a GCSE grade C originally intended to be equivalent to the O-Level Grade C and CSE Grade 1, and so achievable by the top ~25% of each cohort.  Earlier in the 1980s, a trial "16+" examination was available in some subjects, awarding both an O-level certificate and a CSE certificate.<eod>
<sod>GCSEs were first introduced in 1988<ref>{{cite book |title=Contemporary Debates in Education: An Historical Perspective |last=Brooks |first=Ron |orig-year=First published 1991 |year=2014 |publisher=Routledge |location=New York |isbn=978-0-582-05797-5 |ol=1863538M |chapter=A decade and more of debate |pages=21-23 |url={{Google books|MGagBAAAQBAJ|page=21|plainurl=yes}}}}</ref> to establish a national qualification for school-leavers who decided to leave school at 16 and not to pursue further academic studies and qualifications such as A-Levels or university degrees. They were introduced to replace former British educational credentials such as the CSE (Certificate of Secondary Education) and the [[GCE Ordinary Level (United Kingdom)|O-Level]] qualifications, which had been criticised for failing the bottom 42% of O-level entrants and the brightest CSE entrants. The former failed to achieve a qualification, despite being identified as being in the top 30% academically, and the latter failed to offer a means to differentiate the achievement of the brightest CSE candidates. A single merged qualification was proposed that would resolve these issues by utilising an extended alphabetic grading system, with a GCSE grade C originally intended to be equivalent to the O-Level Grade C and CSE Grade 1, and so achievable by the top ~25% of each cohort.  Earlier in the 1980s, a trial "16+" examination was available in some subjects, awarding both an O-level certificate and a CSE certificate.<eod>