View Full Version : Public Education System - UK
Discuss! ;)
If a mod could move a bunch of the off-topic posts into here from http://forums.aria.co.uk/showthread.php/106037-GCSE-choices that would be helpful. :)
2901It's right though
2901
My point is:
GCSE - Noobs
MYP - Hardcore pros
And the others like BTEC aren't even worth mentioning.
Education system needs a revamp.
GCSE's are a meaningless measure, kids are leaving school useless.
They may have "great" GCSE results, but when it comes to getting a job with those results? You're worse than an "uneducated" worker who's had more experience than you.
I also have a massive issue with the way schools work and their massive contrast to College.
When I went into secondary school in 2003, there were vending machines (Coke, chocolate etc), "tuck shop" at break/dinner where you could buy chips/sausage buns etc. Students could go out during Dinner (All ages, gave you responsibility of yourself). The school field was public during none school times.
Now a days there's no vending machines, no tuck shop, students aren't allowed out and the school is fenced off, which is a massive contrast to College life. At least in 2003 the boundary between School/College "freedom" wasn't that far apart, it was easier to adapt to.
Some of the attitudes of teachers was truly stupid too. Substitute teachers were a joke too.
ChrisGlobe
24-06-12, 14:19
Key problem is employers want two things, good grades and lots of experience. Thinking about it, I applied for some "trainee xxxxxxx" jobs in the past that needed experience in the role! GCSEs are certainly not meaningless, they are simply one part of a large set of skills you need to be considered employable. I know people that left High School with 5 A* GCSEs and expected to coast through their A-Levels and Degrees. They've now got through their Degrees and expect to find a well paid job straight away. Similarly, I know people that came out with less than 5 GCSE passes. They didn't go to college, they went to their local shop/garage/Tesco and worked hard, built up the experience and expected to find a better job straight away.
Reality check, that won't work. It never used to, it certainly won't now!
I got my GCSEs (just), I got a couple of A-Levels (just!) and I chose not to go to University. I went and found a job, built up the experience and did every training course I could. I have experience and I have qualifications relevant to that experience. Whether you go to public/private or state schools, it's what you do after you get those initial qualifications that will decide your future.
Anyone who blames the education system for their failings needs to wake up and realise how the work system works. It took me 18 months to do so, and now I have a full-time, well-paid job that I love!
Overall the education system just does this.
gcses -> get people ready for a levels
a levels -> get people ready for degrees
degrees -> leave people with debt
Like most things our goverment(s) over the years have dithered about and let it go down the pan. You can't teach some brainless kid to cook and clean and manage the bills as it's not politically correct to call his family morons for not giving him those skills but you can churn out social studies and art degrees till the cows come home.
For a few it does work, they get a degree from one of the handful of unis where employers read the name and don't bin any cv it is on, for the rest it is becoming an awful debt they regret later in life.
Who's blaming their failings on the education system?
ChrisGlobe
24-06-12, 14:25
It was a generalised comment, there are plenty of people that do in this country.
Overall the education system just does this.
gcses -> get people ready for a levels
a levels -> get people ready for degrees
degrees -> leave people with debt
Like most things our goverment(s) over the years have dithered about and let it go down the pan. You can't teach some brainless kid to cook and clean and manage the bills as it's not politically correct to call his family morons for not giving him those skills but you can churn out social studies and art degrees till the cows come home.
For a few it does work, they get a degree from one of the handful of unis where employers read the name and don't bin any cv it is on, for the rest it is becoming an awful debt they regret later in life.
Teachers are too lenient with coursework/homework missing in School, that has a knock on effect in College when they're going through the same routine.
It was a generalised comment, there are plenty of people that do in this country.
Then that's their own fault for being useless :p
I'm not saying people don't need education, I think they need a much stricter and harder education frankly.
GCSE is the current measurement of education in School, saying they're useless/meaningless is not the same as saying education is useless/meaningless, you just substitute the measurement.
To be honest, I felt that my GCSE's are way too easy. They're just not specialised for groups of individuals enough.
I appreciate that for some they are more difficult, but to be honest, in school, there isn't really hard/difficult etc. Your results will directly correlate with the hours put in.
You could then say that they're a judge of people's commitments to their subjects, which is true to an extent. However, at GCSE level, some individuals can easily just have a flick through the book a couple of times and come out with at least 8 A*'s - C's.
They aren't even a preparation for later life, as they're far too easy to breeze through and aren't seen as important. (Which is totally true), hence my lack of work at GCSE, as I knew full-well I could do the bare minimum to keep teachers/parents off my back and still get the grades I needed to study my chosen A-Levels.
For the kids who are able to motivate themselves, GCSE's are far too easy. The lack of challenge makes them boring.
Now here comes the rant.
UCAS points, (the system utilised by most universities to generalise the multiple awards out there into a simple system) is a flaming JOKE.
My course required 260 UCAS points including Maths and Physics A-Levels.
Well let's break this down.
260 - 70 (received for doing an extended project. Essentially a project with an accompanying write up. I chose to learn Java and write a game for mine, however I saw people doing ones on the economy etc, flicking through a couple of webpages, and it took them a grand total of 10-15 hours of work to do.)
190 - 40 (received from completing AS level applied IT at C grade.)
150 Points left to get... from three a levels.
A* - 140
A - 120
B - 100
C- 80
D - 60
E - 40
Well, so what did I need to do to get into my university course? Get at least an E in both maths and Physics, do a piece of coursework (WORTH THE SAME AS AN AS GRADE WTF!) which wouldn't require more than 10 hours of work, and score 190 points over three a- levels...
The real joke comes, when my third option (chemistry) isn't weighted any more than some bloody business studies exam, which I could've just walked into and gotten a C with no work.
Verdict: UCAS system is a joke.
<rant over>
Helios1234
24-06-12, 17:09
Now here comes the rant.
UCAS points, (the system utilised by most universities to generalise the multiple awards out there into a simple system) is a flaming JOKE.
My course required 260 UCAS points including Maths and Physics A-Levels.
Well let's break this down.
260 - 70 (received for doing an extended project. Essentially a project with an accompanying write up. I chose to learn Java and write a game for mine, however I saw people doing ones on the economy etc, flicking through a couple of webpages, and it took them a grand total of 10-15 hours of work to do.)
190 - 40 (received from completing AS level applied IT at C grade.)
150 Points left to get... from three a levels.
A* - 140
A - 120
B - 100
C- 80
D - 60
E - 40
Well, so what did I need to do to get into my university course? Get at least an E in both maths and Physics, do a piece of coursework (WORTH THE SAME AS AN AS GRADE WTF!) which wouldn't require more than 10 hours of work, and score 190 points over three a- levels...
The real joke comes, when my third option (chemistry) isn't weighted any more than some bloody business studies exam, which I could've just walked into and gotten a C with no work.
Verdict: UCAS system is a joke.
<rant over>
Most good universities don't care about UCAS points. They want you to get certain grades in 2 or more subjects. In fact, I don't think any of the ones I applied to explicitly mentioned UCAS points. They all stated 3As or 2As and 1B to get in. So despite me being able to earn a potential 660 UCAS points, they would have been meaningless had I not received an A in Maths and Physics. Although I earned 640 points, it was probably irrelevant to my Uni.
A Ginger Sheep
24-06-12, 17:10
cosford, you do realise not everyone is able to breeze through gcse's? some people actually find it difficult to pass maths and english for example, if you are fairly smart you should be able to breeze through as you say but gcse's are not there to test just how smart you are (more to give you some grounding in various subjects and figure out what interests you) as that is what a-levels are for. also the ucas points system only really applies to the 'runt' of unis, so if you are the genius that you make yourself out to be your probably not looking at unis that match your potential.
however that is not to say that you are completely wrong, it is unfair that some subjects are tougher than others but you get the 'same' grade but if you applied to uni and it was between you and someone else to get the place, those 'tougher' subjects will be taken into consideration by admission tutors. the system is not perfect, but its not the easiest thing to get 'right', how do you make it tougher to challenge the smartest whilst taking steps to make sure those at the other end of the scale do not 'drown' so to speak?
Most good universities don't care about UCAS points. They want you to get certain grades in 2 or more subjects. In fact, I don't think any of the ones I applied to explicitly mentioned UCAS points. They all stated 3As or 2As and 1B to get in. So despite me being able to earn a potential 660 UCAS points, they would have been meaningless had I not received an A in Maths and Physics. Although I earned 640 points, it was probably irrelevant to my Uni.
just wondering, how did you end up with so many ucas points?
cosford, you do realise not everyone is able to breeze through gcse's? some people actually find it difficult to pass maths and english for example, if you are fairly smart you should be able to breeze through as you say but gcse's are not there to test just how smart you are (more to give you some grounding in various subjects and figure out what interests you) as that is what a-levels are for. also the ucas points system only really applies to the 'runt' of unis, so if you are the genius that you make yourself out to be your probably not looking at unis that match your potential.
however that is not to say that you are completely wrong, it is unfair that some subjects are tougher than others but you get the 'same' grade but if you applied to uni and it was between you and someone else to get the place, those 'tougher' subjects will be taken into consideration by admission tutors. the system is not perfect, but its not the easiest thing to get 'right', how do you make it tougher to challenge the smartest whilst taking steps to make sure those at the other end of the scale do not 'drown' so to speak?
just wondering, how did you end up with so many ucas points?
Sorry, don't think I made it clear enough, I was trying to get across that they are nowhere near specialised enough.
The idea of pushing the same GCSE's across every child in the UK is rediculous.
The problem being that higher ability students are forced down to cater for the lower students. It doesn't do justice, and gives higher ability students nothing to work towards.
A Ginger Sheep
24-06-12, 17:19
It doesn't do justice, and gives higher ability students nothing to work towards.
yeah it does, 11 A*s even at GCSE is not an easy feat for example, takes a lot of effort and discipline which unis will notice
Terbinator
24-06-12, 17:22
Scrubber parenting is the real problem.
yeah it does, 11 A*s even at GCSE is not an easy feat for example, takes a lot of effort and discipline which unis will notice
No one said it was.
Scrubber parenting is the real problem.
I'll tell my Mam in the morning :p
A Ginger Sheep
24-06-12, 17:35
No one said it was.
But you and cosford have said that gcses are too easy, to get good grades maybe, however to get the top it is not, so it is not as easy as you make out, also the reason everybody has a core group of subjects is because they are needed.
If the system sucks so much, what would you do to improve it? I personally don't think its perfect and it has its flaws but its far from bad.
just wondering, how did you end up with so many ucas points? [/FONT]
DoE awards, random other stuff, you can notch up 100s of points for random stuff that isn't really education. Also learning instruments and random stuff you wouldn't really expect.
But you and cosford have said that gcses are too easy, to get good grades maybe, however to get the top it is not, so it is not as easy as you make out, also the reason everybody has a core group of subjects is because they are needed.
If the system sucks so much, what would you do to improve it? I personally don't think its perfect and it has its flaws but its far from bad.
They are, I could have missed half my exams, fapped in the other half and still got into any College I wanted to with 5 C's (Which I practically already had from Coursework, I was literally walking in the exam with C's)
Terbinator
24-06-12, 17:58
I'll tell my Mam in the morning :p
Lol, you know what i mean. You hear the horror stories of people not being able to read and write, use a knife and fork etc. These aren't things teachers should be responsible for, parents should be and they're the root cause of the problem.
A Ginger Sheep
24-06-12, 18:00
okay, its not hard to get in to the next stage at all, but it hardly means you achieved your full potential, theres quite a in my school that got into sixth form just about, but very few lasted the first 4 months never mind the first year. point is just because that is all you need does not mean that is what you should aim for, that just a **** poor attitude to have imo. dont get me wrong i didn't exactly exert myself at gcse or a-level but i did enough to make sure i got good grades, because thats all i needed for uni, (AAB) but i regret it in hindsight and wish my attitude through gcse and AS was a lot better now in hindsight.
yeah it does, 11 A*s even at GCSE is not an easy feat for example, takes a lot of effort and discipline which unis will notice
But it's not really going to get you anywhere.
Universities, for example, will be far more interested in your A-level results.
But no one should ever be in a situation where they're walking into Exams with guaranteed C's because of coursework and because of that be then allowed to advance to the next stage of education which is an entirely different level.
A Ginger Sheep
24-06-12, 18:09
But it's not really going to get you anywhere.
Universities, for example, will be far more interested in your A-level results.
and what do you think they look at when they have a lot of top level candidates with extremely impressive A-level grades and personal statements that are very difficult to distinguish between?
Lol, you know what i mean. You hear the horror stories of people not being able to read and write, use a knife and fork etc. These aren't things teachers should be responsible for, parents should be and they're the root cause of the problem.
Reading/Writing is on the schools and the parents.
People should be forced to read, as some people have abysmal reading ability. In year 5 (So I was about 10-11?) the teacher noted I wasn't a thicko, had me reading the Harry Potter series (Which back then was 1,2,3,4) and the Hobbit and LOTR.
They are, I could have missed half my exams, fapped in the other half and still got into any College I wanted to with 5 C's (Which I practically already had from Coursework, I was literally walking in the exam with C's)
You didn't actually answer the question.. What you're actually saying with that reply is that you picked a college that had low entry requirements, rather than gcses being easy..
if they are as easy as you say, why aren't most people walking out with all A* results?
[/devil's advocate] ;) :D
and what do you think they look at when they have a lot of top level candidates with extremely impressive A-level grades and personal statements that are very difficult to distinguish between?
References.
Other ventures.
Added after 2 minutes:
You didn't actually answer the question.. What you're actually saying with that reply is that you picked a college that had low entry requirements, rather than gcses being easy..
if they are as easy as you say, why aren't most people walking out with all A* results?
[/devil's advocate] ;) :D
Prior is considered one of the better Colleges, it's the College schools force you into practically, I didn't go to Prior, I didn't want to.
Getting the best results isn't easy, but that's practically a bonus, given they want A-C's to get into College and since as I've explained it's so easy to get that C (From Coursework, you could write your name on your Exam paper, go to sleep and still get your C)
Some people can play a easy game and die, doesn't stop it being an overall easy game.
I think one of the main problems is that education encourages people to do the minimum.. setting entry requirements at a level that people have already reached with their coursework means there is no motivation for people unless pushing in their exams..
I agree with martin to an extent here.
If you're looking at two candidates for a Job, both have the same degree in the most relevant field, both have the same A-levels, then you look at GCSE's. Just because one has 10B's and one has 10C's, doesn't mean the one with the B's will get the job.
They'll look for experience etc long before they compare GCSE's...
A Ginger Sheep
24-06-12, 18:17
References.
Other ventures.
and gcse results, good luck getting into the top courses with 5 c's at gcse regardless of A-level results
I think one of the main problems is that education encourages people to do the minimum.. setting entry requirements at a level that people have already reached with their coursework means there is no motivation for people unless pushing in their exams..
If they made exams harder and tightened the requirements to get into College, that'd decrease the amount going into higher education, but it'd be a positive step to having more academically capable students at College level, although I find the most academically capable students to be the most useless when it comes to anything else.
I think one of the main problems is that education encourages people to do the minimum.. setting entry requirements at a level that people have already reached with their coursework means there is no motivation for people unless pushing in their exams..
Nail on the head there.
GCSE's don't really count for anything if you're planning on going to University, so why bother putting the work in, unnecessarily?
and gcse results, good luck getting into the top courses with 5 c's at gcse regardless of A-level results
GCSE's after the references and other ventures, but if you can't distinguish the two after that, then I'm sure either student would be a credit to the Uni.
But the GCSEs are only intended to be a step up to get that other experience,
Who's going to get the job if one person has 10Cs and the other has no GCSEs at all.
A Ginger Sheep
24-06-12, 18:19
I agree with martin to an extent here.
If you're looking at two candidates for a Job, both have the same degree in the most relevant field, both have the same A-levels, then you look at GCSE's. Just because one has 10B's and one has 10C's, doesn't mean the one with the B's will get the job.
They'll look for experience etc long before they compare GCSE's...
true but if they are both fresh from graduating, then it will be the one with the B's that will most likely get the nod and therefore gather the experience from that job which will allow them to get into other jobs further up the chain, while the person with C's can struggle to get their foot in the door which is why it is immature to think of doing the bare minimum
But the GCSEs are only intended to be a step up to get that other experience,
Who's going to get the job if one person has 10Cs and the other has no GCSEs at all.
But the GCSE isn't dependant on that situation, it could be any other measurement of School education.
GCSE's (More so those who've aimed for the minimum) don't prepare people for further education either, as they're leagues apart.
So let's put this straight. We're saying GCSE's are worthwhile working hard in, if you're planning on going to university on the presumptions that:
- A job comes up in your chosen field.
- There is more than one suitable candidate for the job.
- You and another candidate(s) all have the most relevant (and best) degree.
- You either have the same experience as the other candidates, or none of you have any.
Chances seem a little slim lol.
Far better to spend the time getting some work experience in ;)
So let's put this straight. We're saying GCSE's are worthwhile working hard in, if you're planning on going to university on the presumptions that:
- A job comes up in your chosen field.
- There is more than one suitable candidate for the job.
- You and another candidate(s) all have the most relevant (and best) degree.
- You either have the same experience as the other candidates, or none of you have any.
Chances seem a little slim lol.
Far better to spend the time getting some work experience in ;)
This.
This.
This.
I think people are getting the wrong meaning when "GCSE's are meaningless" is said.
The current MEASUREMENT (GCSE) is pointless, not A measurement/education structure.
A Ginger Sheep
24-06-12, 18:28
So let's put this straight. We're saying GCSE's are worthwhile working hard in, if you're planning on going to university on the presumptions that:
- A job comes up in your chosen field.
- There is more than one suitable candidate for the job.
- You and another candidate(s) all have the most relevant (and best) degree.
- You either have the same experience as the other candidates, or none of you have any.
Chances seem a little slim lol.
Far better to spend the time getting some work experience in ;)
so your suggesting replace gcse with work experience?
if your saying you do work experience in your spare time, then yes people who want to apply to the top courses already do this because they need to, however considering people are being put out of work left, right and centre where do you think these *meaningful* work placements are going to come from? (if every tom, **** and harry tried to do this?)
so your suggesting replace gcse with work experience?
if your saying you do work experience in your spare time, then yes people who want to apply to the top courses already do this because they need to, however considering people are being put out of work left, right and centre where do you think these *meaningful* work placements are going to come from? (if every tom, **** and harry tried to do this?)
Doesn't sound like he's said that.
By work experience I think he means a job, be that part time or what not.
Terbinator
24-06-12, 18:35
Reading/Writing is on the schools and the parents.
People should be forced to read, as some people have abysmal reading ability. In year 5 (So I was about 10-11?) the teacher noted I wasn't a thicko, had me reading the Harry Potter series (Which back then was 1,2,3,4) and the Hobbit and LOTR.
Maybe its different further up north, but we did The Hobbit anyway - I'm sure it was part of the national curriculum? :p
I'm just going to put down that there is no perfect route and that if you ask anyone they will have a different story of how they got where. Wouldn't want any of the younger forum members taking "advice" from this topic and then getting part time jobs to bulk out a CV instead of studying and hitting grades they need. I know a few people who got part time work and it slowly edged them out of routines and grades so they went from B-C to C-E grades, the tiredness and things all add up.
Maybe its different further up north, but we did The Hobbit anyway - I'm sure it was part of the national curriculum? :p
Classes independently reading the Hobbit themselves at 11?
Certainly wasn't the norm.
The books were the teachers that she brought in for me.
A Ginger Sheep
24-06-12, 18:38
Doesn't sound like he's said that.
By work experience I think he means a job, be that part time or what not.
yeah agreed, very good way of putting yourself in front of other candidates however finding relevant experience that is actually useful is a lot easier said than done, however that doesn't address why you think the education system is inherently flawed, how do you think it can be improved
Terbinator
24-06-12, 18:41
Classes independently reading the Hobbit themselves at 11?
Certainly wasn't the norm.
The books were the teachers that she brought in for me.
No we did it in general. All independent reading was Garry Potter (naturally) as it was all the rage at the time.
O/T: That glorious feel when it was World Book Day/Week and they have the books stored in those metal cabinets that you could buy :3
No we did it in general. All independent reading was Garry Potter (naturally) as it was all the rage at the time.
O/T: That glorious feel when it was World Book Day/Week and they have the books stored in those metal cabinets that you could buy :3
What have you done with Terbinator?
Harry potter was the bane of my life :p
yeah agreed, very good way of putting yourself in front of other candidates however finding relevant experience that is actually useful is a lot easier said than done, however that doesn't address why you think the education system is inherently flawed, how do you think it can be improved
I'm really not sure.
But I'm sick to death of seeing Schools pump out absolute prats into the world (Parents should be ashamed of themselves)
College shouldn't be so easy to get into it either.
I'm not suggesting replacing GCSE's with work experience.
I'm saying that studying time which should be spent on GCSE's is much better spent elsewhere, gaining qualifications and experience that is going to help a-lot more, in addition to the academic testing side of things.
The bit that really bugs me, is the generalisation. For example, two people (A and B) both have 10 Gcse's. A has 5A*'s, 3 A's and 2 B's. Person B has 5 D's, 2 E's, 2F's and a G. I don't like the fact these grades (F and G) were put in to stop people from feeling bad/ being disadvantaged, because they essentially failed.
A- Levels drop those grades for good reason.
IMO, bring back difficulty in 'passing' qualifications. 50% minimum to pass at the lowest grade, instead of spreading them all equally along the 0-100% line, resulting in student's achieving 25-30%, still getting a 'qualification' when actually, that qualification meant jack-all. Bring in retaking years and whole qualifications back as the norm if underachieving students want to get into higher education. Bring in graduation from school.
What more incentive to work than otherwise have to redo a year again?
There's just way too much baby-sitting in the system, and that is about as far from a representation of the real world as you can get.
A Ginger Sheep
24-06-12, 18:52
I'm really not sure.
But I'm sick to death of seeing Schools pump out absolute prats into the world (Parents should be ashamed of themselves)
College shouldn't be so easy to get into it either.
true, there are idiots but that is more of a problem with society as a whole not just the education system
not sure whether grades should be raised for college tbh, because whats worse idiots at gcse getting into college and possibly ending up catching themselves on and getting a decent education, or being shunned from the education system and forced onto the dole queue for the rest of their lives?
true, there are idiots but that is more of a problem with society as a whole not just the education system
not sure whether grades should be raised for college tbh, because whats worse idiots at gcse getting into college and possibly ending up catching themselves on and getting a decent education, or being shunned from the education system and forced onto the dole queue for the rest of their lives?
They'd likely go from College to the dole queue anyway, but with a GF and possible kid :p
EDIT : Time for a few pints and the match anyway.
Education system needs a revamp.
GCSE's are a meaningless measure, kids are leaving school useless.
They may have "great" GCSE results, but when it comes to getting a job with those results? You're worse than an "uneducated" worker who's had more experience than you.
I also have a massive issue with the way schools work and their massive contrast to College.
When I went into secondary school in 2003, there were vending machines (Coke, chocolate etc), "tuck shop" at break/dinner where you could buy chips/sausage buns etc. Students could go out during Dinner (All ages, gave you responsibility of yourself). The school field was public during none school times.
Now a days there's no vending machines, no tuck shop, students aren't allowed out and the school is fenced off, which is a massive contrast to College life. At least in 2003 the boundary between School/College "freedom" wasn't that far apart, it was easier to adapt to.
Some of the attitudes of teachers was truly stupid too. Substitute teachers were a joke too.
I agree with the fact that teachers don't give freedom.
I mean, I'm sensible I don't smoke or drink (80% of people in my school do (Or old school)) and they don't allow me to wander off 30m down the road to grab a bit of real food?
I agree with the fact that teachers don't give freedom.
I mean, I'm sensible I don't smoke or drink (80% of people in my school do (Or old school)) and they don't allow me to wander off 30m down the road to grab a bit of real food?
You can blame Jamie Oliver for that.
Fortunately no chef can mess with me getting my chips at lunchtime. :D
The three main sixth form's around here all allow students out at lunch. :)
Still, the hitler-style uniform checks etc are a bit unreal. They're rolling out set uniform for sixth form at one of those schools in September >.<
And yet they want people to stay on at sixth form instead of college? Pfffft.
Helios1234
25-06-12, 09:14
just wondering, how did you end up with so many ucas points?
4As counting for 120 points each (480) + 1B (100) and 1A at AS-Level (60).
A Ginger Sheep
25-06-12, 20:23
Jezz fair play man, u must be a genius lol
1.) Kind of drunk, unfortunately, doesn't change my demeanour in regards to English.
Had an interesting conversation with someone who works around for minimum wage.
I disagree with current education, in that I would let a fraction of the people into higher education, he seems to think I should go for any job, despite being qualified for another.
With current education, because it's old, you have to be wrong to be right in the I.T field, because I aggressively disagreed I came out with a meh degree. He seemed to think I should have been wrong to "be right". How anyone can possible agree with that is absurd.
Do any of you think it's perfectly fine to write/type a BS document to pass a class rather than typing a legitimate/truthful document and failing?
I'd rather fail than write a BS document, sorry Cameron 'n Blair.
The government are clamping down and making GCSE's harder nowadays: what used to be a 60% A* mark in the sciences is now 80% - English is now 15% harder to get each grade - languages coursework has gotten harder by around a grade - geography is getting harder next year - business studies is currently getting much harder, it is now around 95% for an A*. That having been said, it is still a 25% pass mark for GCSE maths - should someone who gets 3 times as many questions wrong as correct really pass?
Anyone who actually tries to pass a GCSE and isn't born with brick-level intelligence should still be able to pass everything quite easily though, but straight A*s will be much harder to get across the board.
I think it's rather stupid having grade levels, if they are a measure of someone's intelligence it should be continuous, if you're measuring a table, you don't measure up to one metre and just call it that.
On the topic of grade inflation I had a mate who was a teacher at a comprehensive school for many years. He openly despaired of the way GCSE pass rates increased year after year despite (in his words) the kids being generally thicker, worse behaved and doing less actual studying. And of course there came the rampant use of the Internet as a “resource” for coursework. He felt that GCSE grades had become a big con as it's in the interest of the government, schools, teachers, education authorities etc. to show increased pass rates, despite the issue that in reality school leavers do not appear to have become significantly more intelligent or hard working since the demise of GCE/O Levels.
When i did my GCSEs at school we got screwed over bad. Basically all the stuff we were given to help revise WAS THE WRONG STUFF.
We revised for a complete different range of tests then the ones they gave us , mock exams i got A's n B's as did my class.
Real exams we all got C's n D's.
We got appologies but no chance to re sit lol..
Tbh though , grades dont get you Jobs its how you present yourself and get yourself noticed by employers.
When i did my GCSEs at school we got screwed over bad. Basically all the stuff we were given to help revise WAS THE WRONG STUFF.
We revised for a complete different range of tests then the ones they gave us , mock exams i got A's n B's as did my class.
Real exams we all got C's n D's.
We got appologies but no chance to re sit lol..
Tbh though , grades dont get you Jobs its how you present yourself and get yourself noticed by employers.
Our mock Exams back in O Level days were old exam papers, we werent given stuff they may test us on, we were told to learn everything we had been taught, everything that is on the syllabus is a potential question, so the only way your revision material is wrong is if its not in the syllabus, you are just unlucky if its not in the exam.
Grades dont get you jobs, but they get you interviews, this has largely always been the case, and in all likelihood will continue to be the case, as so many people apply for jobs you discard the ones with lower grades before the interview stage.
The government are clamping down and making GCSE's harder nowadays: what used to be a 60% A* mark in the sciences is now 80% - English is now 15% harder to get each grade - languages coursework has gotten harder by around a grade - geography is getting harder next year - business studies is currently getting much harder, it is now around 95% for an A*. That having been said, it is still a 25% pass mark for GCSE maths - should someone who gets 3 times as many questions wrong as correct really pass?
Anyone who actually tries to pass a GCSE and isn't born with brick-level intelligence should still be able to pass everything quite easily though, but straight A*s will be much harder to get across the board.
But that's in response to the questions getting easier and easier.
GSCE science questions for instance, are spoon fed. Half of it is multiple choice!
<for bias purposes; I'm in my first year of university and so did my GCSE's two years ago>
EDIT: I'll say again what I stated a few weeks back in this thread.
Go to a system whereby 50-60% overall is required to pass. 10 GCSE's these days mean nothing as they can be, say BCCDDEEEFF.
At least with the fail boundary being high, having a GCSE will actually mean something.
As it stands, pupils can sit back, laugh away for a year and still come away with B's and C's. (I have first hand knowledge of this as I did it myself).
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