There is no appetite for scrapping the north's exams system, although the door has been left open to end GCSes in the longer term. education minister John O'Dowd yesterday told the assembly that he did not believe there was anything fundamentally wrong with the established system of GCSes and A-levels.
Mr O'Dowd had commissioned the Council for the Curriculum, examinations and Assessment (CCeA) to carry out a review, which he described as one of most important pieces of work undertaken in the past quarter-century.
The review, prompted by decisions taken in england, looked at the benefits of retaining the existing system, options for improving it and the possibility of replacing it.
The CCeA report contained 49 recommendations - short, medium and long-term options - which have now been put out for consultation.
The minister told MLAs that GCSes and A-levels should be retained "in the short to medium term" with revisions to reflect the needs of the north's education policy and the economy.
The consultation document contains a longer-term option for ending GCSes and replacing them with nothing, asking respondents whether they agree that "there is no longer a need for high-stakes examinations at age 16".
It recommends retaining AS-levels, creating new style GCSe maths qualifications "focusing on the use of mathematics in daily life" and streamlining the separate GCSe english and english language into a single qualification.
Some MLAs raised concerns about the 'portability' of future qualifications if the north and england went their separate ways. Mr O'Dowd said this would not be an issue.
Westminster education secretary Michael Gove has announced an overhaul of GCSEs in england, which would see pupils take single exams at the end of two years. These changes are expected from 2015.
"Faced with the choice of either defining our own policy or following the secretary of state for education's proposed reforms in england, there was unanimous support for the former - we will lead our own path, determine our own future," Mr O'Dowd said.
"I am satisfied that this report reflects opinions about the need for short-term changes as well as an imperative to take a longer-term view of the qualifications system.
"If necessary this may well include consideration of a system which is independent from - although demonstrably comparable with - neighbouring jurisdictions."
Mr O'Dowd said now was the time to flesh out the recommendations.
"Given its potential significance for qualifications development, I am also launching a consultation which will provide a further opportunity for stakeholders, including teachers, employers, parents and pupils, to comment upon the findings," he said.