Brown loses Sun newspaper backing

[DiscoStu]

Well, it was 87% nationally in 1997 and 97% in 2009. That's not an unbelievable leap, more like signs of a solid improvement in general education standards from primary school up.

Stop it, you're killing me!

You don't honestly believe standards have improved that much do you? Notihng to do with the exams becoming easier and easier?

[Menelaus]

I've written on the subject of education in the past, and I fear that the reason that exam pass rates have been constantly improving over the years is that teaching as a career is over.

To provide a basis for this assertion, consider this: what is the purpose of teaching? Is it, as I would attest to, to provide a broad-level understanding of a subject and to enthuse students and encourage further, self-led study?

As an alternative to this, what is the purpose of coaching? Is it to move a train and prepare a given individual for a specific event?

On this basis I would suggest that we no longer have teachers in our schools - we have coaches.

[Moscow Mule]

On this basis I would suggest that we no longer have teachers in our schools - we have coaches.

That appears to be the only way to achieve government targets.

[Menelaus]

That appears to be the only way to achieve government targets.

Doesn't make it right though.

[Doggy Styles]

Of course exams have been dumbed down, along with narrow teaching to the exams instead of educating kids properly. Pass-rates cannot have increased like they have for any other reason.

Firstly, the human race cannot change it's proportion of bright to less able kids. That is normal distribution. If more of the bottom kids are passing exams, and with 97% pass-rates the vast majority must be, it must be due to lowering the bar.

Secondly, overall improvements in child intelligence cannot be made in a few years. It takes thousands of years of evolution.

Thirdly, if teaching has improved so much, I'd like to know what was supposed to be wrong with teachers 20 or 30 years ago, other than they spent more time in the classroom teaching and less doing paperwork.

Anyone who believes the claptrap about vastly improved education must be mad.

[Doggy Styles]

And another thing, how is all this so-called improved education helping our economy? It's been in place long enough now to make a difference.

[BoredBloke]

So presumably we can expect a plummeting pass rate soon after the Tories get in and correct this scandalous exam rigging?

No - The Tories started this process but Labour got it to where it is now. Effectively if you get a D ro an E at A level now you are deep inside the 40% who would have had to fail. Their D or E should be as worthless and the fail was back then. No party will ever reverse this now as the opposition would say that they are having a negative effect on the education system because pass rates have fallen. Such is the screwed up education system we now have.

It's true that the method of testing has been changed as well, with course work and modules being used in the assessment as well as traditional exams. There's no denying that that has had an impact. The question is, whether that is "cheating"? Personally, I don't think it is at all. It's more like real life. It was always absurd to spend years teaching people and then assess them based on a one hour exam in the middle of the hayfever season.

And much more open to abuse. With modules of work submitted and the teacher telling the student where to correct things or what to add to get to the next grade. Again that isn't teaching the subject that's teaching how to beat the test. With model answers freely available on the internet we are testing pupils abilty with google more than anything else

[QUOTE=dang65;959634That will have had a big effect on pass rates, but claiming that the exams themselves have been made easier is daft.[/QUOTE]

What is daft is to claim that this has not happened when the evidence clearly points to it being so. Teaching alone cannot do this. When I did my a levels the A's were the preserve of the true high flyers. Today that is simply not the case. The exams have been made easier. As I said before. The alevel in certain subjects is almost impossible to fail!

[TimberWolf]

The general idea is that everyone gets A's, so that everyone can go study at Oxbridge and then everyone can have highly paid jobs.

[BoredBloke]

The general idea is that everyone gets A's, so that everyone can go study at Oxbridge and then everyone can have Mc jobs.

There you go

[Menelaus]

I'm watching BBCNews this morning and have seen the Sun political editor sitting next to Margaret Beckett who looked like she was about to savage him. Much fun.