Reply to: First fall in GCSE grades in exam's history

[SupremeSpod]

Nah.

We do that intentionally.

In my young day it was the First year that was insanely difficult (and largely tedious & irrelevant) to weed out the wheat from the chaff.

Can't do that any more or there wouldn't be any esteemed customers left.

According to Eben Upton, that's the reasoning behind starting the "Raspberry Pi" project. To try and harvest more homegrown wheat!

[MyUserName]

Agreed. Last week I spoke to head of maths at a large school and she said that A-level results are generally the same, and very rarely more than one grade different, to the pupil's AS score.

Fair enough, perhaps I am mistaken in that assumption.

Although with regards to uni, my second year was vastly harder than my first. The course seemed to go insane. It was not just me either, we were all horrified at how difficult it got. However, that might just have been that course at that uni.

[Doggy Styles]

I don't think A-levels get harder in year 2. If you hadn't done the first year then of course it looks that way, but it just builds on what you learned or is a different topic entirely depending if you're doing a science or art subject.
Viewing an AS as half an A-level is fine, but if someone only has AS levels that is weird.

Agreed. Last week I spoke to head of maths at a large school and she said that A-level results are generally the same, and very rarely more than one grade different, to the pupil's AS score.

[d000hg]

I don't know, I did 2 A-levels and an AS in maths and it didn't really work that way. You had something like 16 modules altogether and an A-level was formed of 4 modules... clearly some modules had prerequisites but if anything it was the core modules which were hardest as they taught the new key concepts which you then used as tools throughout the later modules. I never felt anything got harder or easier, it was just different.

The same went for uni really...

[MyUserName]

I assumed it got harder as it went along because it was based on more of the A level standard stuff from previously on the course. You have to know and fully understand the subject in the first A level year of Maths to be able to do the second year.

It might not be the same with all subjects, I did not take them all but to be honest this is a minor point in my confusion over the point of AS levels as stand alone qualifications.

[d000hg]

I don't think A-levels get harder in year 2. If you hadn't done the first year then of course it looks that way, but it just builds on what you learned or is a different topic entirely depending if you're doing a science or art subject.
Viewing an AS as half an A-level is fine, but if someone only has AS levels that is weird.

[MyUserName]

They were originally suppose to allow those who specialised in one area i.e. Sciences, Arts to be able to do a subject in a different area, or to allow people to expand their knowledge in an area i.e. maths.

Yeah, that is why I took the AS further maths. This makes sense.

Now they are used as a halfway point in A levels to work out the predicted grades of students going to university.

But they are not only for that - students can leave with just AS levels as stand alone qualifications ... what does that mean?

Does 4 AS levels at grade B mean you are clever or not? Does it mean you are good at your subject or just that you quit midway? A levels generally have the easier stuff at the beginning so a good AS level means you are good at the easy parts of an A level ... is that better than someone with a lower grade in a full A level?!?!??!?!

[doomage]

Funny you should say that.

One of the wealthiest blokes I know is Senior Partner of an IP.

Agreed, good money in that game. I would expect a lot of business in Spain in the coming years, although probably plenty enough in the UK.

[SupremeSpod]

What business course is that? Insolvency practitioner?

Funny you should say that.

One of the wealthiest blokes I know is Senior Partner of an IP.

[Doggy Styles]

That's why it used to be graded using a bell curve.

Now it's a Cos wave.

[d000hg]

Really? You're amazingly ignorant aren't you?

Whoosh.

[mudskipper]

GCSE's aren't needed in England as the current lot of kids can't leave education or some form of educational training until they 18.

So they may as well make them all do some sort of Bacalaureat then they may actually learn something rather than just how to pass exams.

My son's school is encouraging them to take subjects that will qualify them for the English Baccalaureate - as far as I understand they have to do English, Maths, Science, a foreign Language, and history or geography at GCSE - most schools insist on the former four at GCSE anyway.

[sasguru]

Which raises an odd paradox considering that young people have always known better than their elders.

Really? You're amazingly ignorant aren't you?

[SueEllen]

Also, WTF are AS levels for? When we had them you took them as well as A levels (I took A level maths and AS further maths as I wanted to do a maths degree). If someone has several As and Bs in AS levels but no A levels does that mean they are clever or not?

They were originally suppose to allow those who specialised in one area i.e. Sciences, Arts to be able to do a subject in a different area, or to allow people to expand their knowledge in an area i.e. maths.

Now they are used as a halfway point in A levels to work out the predicted grades of students going to university.

[doomage]

My Nephew got his results through this morning. He got a grade "B" in Spanish. He's 13.

He hates the language, only took it because it's a pre-requisite for a business course he wants to do.

What business course is that? Insolvency practitioner?