Forums > Social Discussion > A level / GCSE's getting easier

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linden rathenGOLD Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
6,942 posts
Location: London, UK


Posted:
every year around this time the newspapers parade a host of head lines screaming that A levels etc are getting easier

is it just me that finds this very demeaning and annoying?

i have just got my results (AAbC: phsyics, maths, general studies and further maths)

and found it very annoying and mildly sickening that the day before they arrived newspapers were claiming the 14 odd exams id jsut sat were getting easier and were worthless

yes this is a bit of a rant but personally i find it insulting that the press can, as a group, take an increase in our scores (we couldnt possibly be getting better?) and use it as an excuse to put down an entire generation as less worth

while yes the exams may be getting easier and things may be changing **but** we are under more stress than ever before and this sort of thing dosnt help especailly in the days preceeding the results which are always nervous and horrible times

ok rant talk etc over - anyone else agree?

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linden rathenGOLD Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
6,942 posts
Location: London, UK


Posted:
lol ok *joins que offtopic

anyway ....

was very hapyp today when i had at a look @ our lockal newspaper which was saying congrats to GCSE takers and A levelists smile very nice to be recognised

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lauz the caterpillagoddess of all things slimey and an interchangeable insect!
2,443 posts
Location: nottingham - the land of opportunity lol!


Posted:
oh well o levels were harder than gcse's.
i hear degree's are hard cant wait to do mine biggrin

Shhhhhh! the boobies are trying to sleep.
owner and the property of noddy.
*i was a caterpilla last night wink* - libby_tuesday


LemonkeyStalking amidst the desert, carrying an oversized scalpel...
1,019 posts
Location: Huddersfield + Hull Uni... UK.


Posted:
Written by: lauz the caterpilla

i hear degree's are hard cant wait to do mine biggrin




The first year is easy, but the latter years challenge you.

Willy - is bad for your health...


kjealnewbie
3 posts

Posted:
A-levels getting easier? No
GCSE's getting easier? No
School's fiddling results to get up league tables? Yes

unless you're [planning to go to oxford etc, a-levels and gcse's count for nothing when you're getting a job.

its your attitude and work ethic. Some of the most arrogant people I know have a masters in some financial crap and boast of their 'achievements'. Gimme a break! the most interesting and FUN people I know arn't super academics.

thats my 2-pence......

LemonkeyStalking amidst the desert, carrying an oversized scalpel...
1,019 posts
Location: Huddersfield + Hull Uni... UK.


Posted:
Written by: kjeal

. Gimme a break! the most interesting and FUN people I know arn't super academics.




... but the more successful and world-changing people are.

Willy - is bad for your health...


EeraBRONZE Member
old hand
1,107 posts
Location: In a test pit, Mackay, Australia


Posted:
Some A levels are definately harder than others; several broadsheets publish tables on the number of hours you need to put into any particular subject to get an equivilent result, needless to say, maths, physics and the like are by far the hardest, which may explain why not many people do them and why we have few decent scientists and engineers coming through (different topic altogether, sorry.)

Anyway, one of the most critical differences between the old and the new system is that AS levels are no longer regarded as being half an A level and cannot be used by themselves to get into university; basically up to 4 years ago, 6 AS were the equivilent of 3 A levels, but then you'd do half the syllabus in as much detail, whereas now you do the whole syllabus in half the detail and you are no longer regarded as having the same depth of knowledge.

If this has changed since my days on university administration I'd like to know. As I now spend my days covered in coal dust I no longer have to care.

There is a slight possibility that I am not actually right all of the time.


strooSILVER Member
trusty sidekick to superman
799 posts
Location: oxford, england, uk


Posted:
Havent been bothered to read the whole of this thread (sorry! lazy i know), but i totally agree that its out of order saying that the exams are getting easier. I think we should make the f***ing paparazzi take the exams and see how the [censored] they do. (sorry about the swearing, very uncharacteristic of me. im feeling agressive)

Eera - personally i think that even though I got a B in AS psychology, i didnt get half as much (by far) out of it as i did completing my chemistry, biology and english lang A-levels. Maybe it was because i didnt enjoy it too much, but a year later, i only really remember about 3 case studies from the whole year. I'm pretty sure that i'll remember a lot of my biology and chemistry (and maybe to a lesser degree english lang) for years and years to come.

Livin' on dreams and custard creams


GothFrogetteBRONZE Member
grumpy poorly froggy
3,999 posts
Location: Nuneaton, United Kingdom


Posted:
oh this a huge gripe of mine too. no one says "Good on the kids" its just full of the older generation "They are easier"

the exams are different to when they were younger.... and me and thats because times change, subject matter change.
i could go onto a huge rant about not giving the kids/ young adults enough credit for anything but i won't cause well it will take forever

Life's too short to worry about where you put your marshmallows


pricklyleafSILVER Member
with added berries
1,365 posts
Location: Manchester, England (UK)


Posted:
I haven't read the whole thread but heres my thoughts.

I think that students have to put a huge amount of effort in to do their exams (I sat mine the fisrt year AS levels were introduced).

However, exams used to test more general knowledge, now teachers have become expert at teaching for exams, not teaching for life which I think is partly to blame for the claims.

In my personal experience, exams don't prove anything really, except that someone has a good memory. (I realise a lot of you may disagree). I have recently found out I am dyslexic and as a consequence don't have as good a memory as others . Although the test showed I'm suppossed to be very intellegent, I didn't get top marks in exams because of my memory, despite putting the work in. It just goes to show really, howe relient many subjects, especially things like history, geography, science etc, are testing your memory more than anything else. To be honest I think the whole system needs an overhaul, and should head back to teaching things that will actually be of use when you leave school.

Live like there is no tomorrow,
dance like nobody is watching
and hula hoop like wiggling will save the world.

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson


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