In December, Gove announced that performance tables would measure the proportion of pupils at each school who obtain good grades in five specified core subjects at GCSE: English, maths, at least one science, a foreign language and a humanities subject.
From childhood through college, he said, he sometimes felt low moments, but they were submerged beneath an almost obsessive desire to obtain good grades and to become an elite athlete.
But with appointments to academic posts made on the basis of a proven research record - driven by the need for universities to obtain good grades in the Research Assessment Exercise - this option has rarely succeeded in recent years.
Also, the strategic approach with the intention to obtain good grades needs to be questioned further, as the MOOC completion was a part of the final grade on the subject; it is highly possible that this affected the approach to learning among students.
Being aware of things that will improve and obtain good grades is a good idea.
