Government spin AGAIN

expat · 27th November 2008, 11:56

Pupils of today struggle with science questions of the 60s

Quote:

There has been a "catastrophic slippage" in standards of science taught in schools, leaving children with a superficial understanding of chemistry, biology and physics, according to the Royal Society of Chemistry.
...
A department for children, schools and families spokesperson said that standards in science were in fact improving in response to better funding of schools. "Times have changed – it is unlikely that pupils from the 1960s could answer questions set today, given that the role of science in society has changed so much in the last 40 years," she said.

So today's exams are not about science, but about "the role of science in society" ?

Mich the Tester · 27th November 2008, 12:01

‘…given that the role of science in society has changed so much in the last 40 years’

Has it?

How?

expat · 27th November 2008, 12:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mich the Tester

‘…given that the role of science in society has changed so much in the last 40 years’

Has it?

How?

Er, don't care, a science class and a science exam should be about science. Almost none of the science taught in 1960s science classes is not good today.

The rôle of science in society would be sociology. But I suspect that's what they teach as science now. Never mind the carbon cycle or photosynthesis, just teach them that we make CO2 and that causes global warming. Science in society: passed!

EternalOptimist · 27th November 2008, 12:38

check out the papers here

http://www.gcsesciencepastpapers.com...-june-2007.htm

Purple Dalek · 27th November 2008, 12:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by EternalOptimist

check out the papers here

http://www.gcsesciencepastpapers.com...-june-2007.htm

I thought that was a piss take, but see it is real. How anyone with a clue fails to get an A on that I don't know.

ace00 · 27th November 2008, 12:43

There has been a "catastrophic slippage" in standards of science taught in schools, leaving children with a superficial understanding of chemistry, biology and physics, according to the Royal Society of Chemistry.
...
A department for children, schools and families spokesperson said that standards in science were in fact improving

Welcome to 1984.

sasguru · 27th November 2008, 12:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mich the Tester

‘…given that the role of science in society has changed so much in the last 40 years’

Has it?

How?

Yes it has. 40 years ago science was respected and most people understood it was responsible for national wealth.
Now people are too stupid to make the connection.

Mind you, when it comes to global warming most people on this forum haven't a leg to stand on, since they believe the nonsense produced by public relations group and "think tanks" funded by oil interests rather than believing the vast majority of professional scientists around the world.

expat · 27th November 2008, 12:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by EternalOptimist

check out the papers here

http://www.gcsesciencepastpapers.com...-june-2007.htm

Not as bad as I feared, for a very basic exam. Depends I suppose on what mark will count as a pass, and how advanced the exam is seen as being.

Only 1 question (6) is environment/society rather than science. Q5 is consciously applied to the Highway Code but I suppose that is a good thing.

The amount of hard calculation required is minimal, which in a way underrates the requirement in science to be both correct and exact; too much of this exam has many "right" answers.

Question 2b and question 7 both have 2 parts, where first you write down the equation needed to calculate a numerical result, and then you calculate it; the first part has 1 mark and the second part 2 marks, which seems strange to me: if you have the equation, you very nearly have the result. Unless of course basic calculation is seen as difficult.

Mich the Tester · 27th November 2008, 13:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by sasguru

Yes it has. 40 years ago science was respected and most people understood it was responsible for national wealth.
Now people are too stupid to make the connection.

Mind you, when it comes to global warming most people on this forum haven't a leg to stand on, since they believe the nonsense produced by public relations group and "think tanks" funded by oil interests rather than believing the vast majority of professional scientists around the world.

Oh OK, but that means society has changed. Science continues the process of hypothesizing, diligent observation, peer review and generally figuring out really brilliant stuff, as it’s been doing since Aristotle’s time, while society seems to value esoteric nonsense.

Carl Sagan wrote a book called ‘The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark’. For anyone who’s scientifically trained it might seem like preaching to the converted but I think it should be taken up in the national curriculum and read by every schoolchild instead of silly courses about ‘the role of science in society’.

TykeMerc · 27th November 2008, 13:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by EternalOptimist

check out the papers here

http://www.gcsesciencepastpapers.com...-june-2007.htm

Ok that's scary, it's a long time since I learned the basic equations and I'm ashamed to say that I had to think hard to recall some of them, but that paper is a complete farce.
At a guess (i.e. without checking some of the numbers with a calculator) I scored 90%+ in 15-20 mins reading through that paper.