GCSE's Have Got Easier

[dune]

I've long said that the year on year improvement in GCSE grades has not been due to better teaching, brighter pupils, or Brown throwing money at schools (paid for on the giant credit card), and finally my view has been vindicated - The Exams Are Now Easier!

 

http://search.bbc.co.uk/click/p/2/ds/latest/t/New%2520science%2520GCSEs%2520%2527not%2520tough%2520enough%2527%252c%2520says%2520watchdog/id/17231394116453127672081635929219000/sp/26fe8149e8316056ef2aefa724dab6fa/-/http%253a%252f%252fnews%252ebbc%252eco%252euk%252f1%252fhi%252feducation%252f10319979%252estm

[jawillwill]

Are you sure your generation isn't just full of thickos?

[dune]

Are you sure your generation isn't just full of thickos?

 

Not at all. In my day qualifications were worth the paper they're written on, but nowadays GCSE A grades are nothing special because any dime bar can get an A in a dumbed down exam.

[benjii]

Haven't read the link but the fact that when I did my GCSEs the "Additional Maths" paper was a former O-Level paper and contained most of the first year of A-Level pure maths would suggest to me (apart from the predictable year-on-year improvements) that they are clearly easier than they used to be.

[dune]

Haven't read the link but the fact that when I did my GCSEs the "Additional Maths" paper was a former O-Level paper and contained most of the first year of A-Level pure maths would suggest to me (apart from the predictable year-on-year improvements) that they are clearly easier than they used to be.

 

School mathematics exams in England have become easier, shallower and less demanding, according to a think tank.

 

Analysis of public maths exam papers taken by 16-year-olds between 1951 and 2006 shows standards have declined markedly, the report for Reform argues.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7431840.stm

[ecuk268]

For once I agree with Dune.

 

I took GCE O levels bacjk in the late 60's. Found my old exam papers the other day and was surprised how advanced the maths papers were. Lots of calculus - differentiation and intergration. Don't see much of that in GCSE.

 

I passed by the way.

[CB Saint]

The exams aren't twice as easy, the kids today are twice as intelligent. Do not underestimate the impact of removing turkey twisslers from the school menu has had.

[Crab Lungs]

A testament to how the intelligence levels have slipped was displayed on my FB status update feed the other day.

 

One particular girl (whose identity shall remain secret) is attending university this year. She updated her status saying she was confused... she didn't know where to find her 16 digit bank account number or sort code on her debit card. :-s

 

Worse still there have been a succession of updates of a showing a similar level of idiocy.

 

Also... I've noticed that the people all around her age don't actually seem particularly intelligent, either. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong places. Maybe it's the X-Factor culture we live in, I don't know. Maybe GCSE's NEED to be easier?

[Ludwig]

The thing is, no one really leaves school with GCSEs expecting to be able to get a job - it doesn't matter what people get/how easy the exams are.

[Hatch]

It's not fair that some pass and some fail, it's just a lot easier to give everyone a pass.

 

We are all equal you know.

 

Intelligence and ability are unfair barometers.

Number of facebook friends and number of tattoos should also be taken into account.

[Ludwig]

School mathematics exams in England have become easier, shallower and less demanding, according to a think tank.

 

Analysis of public maths exam papers taken by 16-year-olds between 1951 and 2006 shows standards have declined markedly, the report for Reform argues.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7431840.stm

 

Despite this, the standard of a good pre-university mathematician hasn't really changed. Though the A Level syllabus isn't particularly massively stretching for most, there still exist papers that are of sufficient difficulty to compare to 'the good old days'. Additional Maths FSMQ at 16 is, as someone pointed out earlier, similar-ish to the old O-Level. Whereas STEP is easily comparable to the old S-Level. Mathematics is probably one of the subjects where there is sufficient capacity to stretch a good candidate, with additional papers, whereas with the sciences, there is little to offer beyond a narrow syllabus.

[View From The Top]

I've long said that the year on year improvement in GCSE grades has not been due to better teaching, brighter pupils, or Brown throwing money at schools (paid for on the giant credit card), and finally my view has been vindicated - The Exams Are Now Easier!

 

http://search.bbc.co.uk/click/p/2/ds/latest/t/New%2520science%2520GCSEs%2520%2527not%2520tough%2520enough%2527%252c%2520says%2520watchdog/id/17231394116453127672081635929219000/sp/26fe8149e8316056ef2aefa724dab6fa/-/http%253a%252f%252fnews%252ebbc%252eco%252euk%252f1%252fhi%252feducation%252f10319979%252estm

 

I'm still willing to bet that you wouldn't pass.

[swannymere]

I was told that they've changed the way they award marks, they used to have fixed points which indicated a grade i.e. anything above 90% was an A, now they award the grades based on percentages regardless of the mark achieved i.e. the top 10% get an A* regardless of their score, meaning if the top 5% score 55-60% then that sets the standard for the marking system and they get an A*.

[MINIBARCELONASAINT]

I am currently doing my GCSES and the grade boundary for an A* in sciences is 70%....................however this is done on the National Average. The more people that score low the lower the amount of marks are needed to get a high grade. For example I can easily get an A* in a science because everyone does it but not everyone is "good" at it. However Economics is only done by some and it is generally A well taught subject so more people score highly therefore pushing grade boundaries up. 70% would only get you a B in Economics but an A* in Biology.

[IamLeGod]

Get a grip Dune.

 

Go back to your hole. Are you actually sitting GCSE's now? No. Have you even got any of your own? Doubtful.

 

You simply don't know.

 

Maybe, just maybe. The media are whipping up a frenzy out of nothing once more. People can't possibly be getting smarter - as that would make them smarter than me. No, no, no it must be that exams are getting easier.

 

You talk like you have opinions of your own, but you really are just a gullible fool that believes any latest hooraah kicked up allowing you to have the next in a long line of gripes with absolutely everything for absolutely no reason.

[Sour Mash]

I think exams have probably got a bit easier, but isn't it largely that schools, teachers and pupils have got better at working out the system and knowing what they need to do to get the kids high grades, what wins high marks, as opposed to necessarily making the kids cleverer?

[SuperMikey]

Oh great - this argument again. Look Dune, if you want to complain about the exams, perhaps first you should try sitting some of these exams that you're proclaiming are too easy. It might just shut you up. I suppose you also think that having your "exams are easier" statement vindicated by a 'think tank' means that it's 100% correct. Sitting round with your mates (if you have any) in the pub discussing things could be classified as a think tank, so I guess now it's fact that Keira Knightley would 'get one' and England are going to win the World Cup.

[Saintandy666]

Ok, so GCSE... people really seem to get one thing confused and it really annoys me everytime. They go, oh everyone always passes blah blah blah.

 

Look, the questions that they give as examples are like G grade questions... it is easy to get a G grade at GCSE, however, it is not easy to get an A or A*.

 

I worked very hard to get my 3 A*'s in the sciences at GCSE and was the only person in my whole school who achieved it, so stop trying to undermine GCSE's, they are a lot harder than you think.

[spyinthesky]

I am an 'old timer'. Passed 11+, went to a Grammar School

Wore a blazer and cap to school (had to doff to the Masters wives if we ever saw them) called the Masters 'Sir' and they called you by your surname.

Much more discipline and respect those days.

That said, I believe kids are equally as intelligent these days and are given the opportunity to question and debate we our generation didn't get until University.

Our generation read books and learnt a lot by rote and progressed on the back of exam results

Today's generation is much more 'saavy' and spend far more time on electronic gadgets in line with technological progress.

Perhaps more store should be placed on traditional values.

To be honest I struggle with some of my kids Maths but am amazed how few of their generation know events of History or where certain places are in the world

Out of 8 'Grade A' students only one knew where Buenos Aires is. One thought Argentina was in Africa!!

[Saintandy666]

Mmmmmmmmmm, but to be fair, you went to a grammar school, so all the less able students were weeded out and you never had to come into contact with them.

 

Tbh, there are clever people and stupid people today like there were 50 years ago.

[dune]

I'm still willing to bet that you wouldn't pass.

 

I'd p1ss the easy exams kids have today. I never bothered revising when I did them at school and waltzed through them.

[View From The Top]

I'd p1ss the easy exams kids have today. I never bothered revising when I did them at school and waltzed through them.

 

I'm not sure CSE's count as real exams Stanley.

[dune]

I'm not sure CSE's count as real exams Stanley.

 

I've got a HND in business and finance.

[View From The Top]

I've got a HND in business and finance.

 

5 tops off Frostie packs gets you that.

[Thorpe-le-Saint]

I need to tread carefully here less I get banned...

Edited 17 June, 2010 by Thorpe-le-Saint

[Thorpe-le-Saint]

Dune got a HND - **** a duck, I can't breathe for laughing! A trained slug could pass one of those. Try a real qualification one day...

Edited 17 June, 2010 by Thorpe-le-Saint

[JustMike]

you are basing that on 1 science paper!

[JustMike]

I'd p1ss the easy exams kids have today. I never bothered revising when I did them at school and waltzed through them.

 

obviously too easy when you did them then!

[Saintandy666]

you are basing that on 1 science paper!

 

And the questions released are the G grade questions(which if you are in the upper tier, you don't have to answer)... and remember that you need to do several multiple choice papers with much harder questions, plus several written papers to make up your grade. You also have to perform consistently well in all them to get a good grade.

[Hatch]

Dune got a HND - **** a duck, I can't breathe for laughing! A trained slug could pass one of those. Try a real qualification one day...

 

correct.

 

Which is why even I passed despite being ****ed every day for 3 years.

[JustMike]

And the questions released are the G grade questions(which if you are in the upper tier, you don't have to answer)... and remember that you need to do several multiple choice papers with much harder questions, plus several written papers to make up your grade. You also have to perform consistently well in all them to get a good grade.

 

exactly!

[dune]

5 tops off Frostie packs gets you that.

 

Given the fact I put zero effort in and was off my head most of the time you have a point.

[dune]

Dune got a HND - **** a duck, I can't breathe for laughing! A trained slug could pass one of those. Try a real qualification one day...

 

Try a real job one day.

[Wilko]

Shouldn't the thread title read: 'GCSEs have become easier'?

 

Note the lack of apostrophe. It's plural, not possessive.

 

I strongly suspect that dune achieved a poor grade in his English Language exams.

[dune]

Shouldn't the thread title read: 'GCSEs have become easier'?

 

Note the lack of apostrophe. It's plural, not possessive.

 

I strongly suspect that dune achieved a poor grade in his English Language exams.

 

You'd be right. I got a C (which in todays easy gcse days would be a b).

[Wilko]

I achieved a grade B in English Language a decade ago, when exactly the same accusations were being levelled. However, it seems the 'easy' course and 'easy' exam taught me some basic grammatical rules, while your more robust education did not.

[Nellie]

You'd be right. I got a C (which in todays easy gcse days would be a b).

Bad luck Dune. This one is a possessive, not a plural.

 

I expect the examiners weren't too stringent in your day either.

[Saint_lambden]

If GCSE results are good then the exams are "too easy"

 

But if GCSE results are bad then the young generation are a load of yobs and the teaching is bad

 

You just can't satisfy some people.

[Kingsland Codger]

I took my 'O' levels in 1972 and also took a GCSE in 1995.

 

The GCSE was in a Modern Language and back in 72 I took an 'O' level in a couple of Modern Languages.

 

The exam I took in 1995 had three papers; listening comprehension, translating from the language into English and translating from English into the language along with composing a story in the language.

 

The early questions in the GCSE were far too easy and should never have been included (such as how do you say 'Hello', that kind of very simple stuff) but as the paper progressed it became more tricky and by the end of the paper I felt stretched and my abilities challenged.

 

Back in 1972, the entire exam tested my abilities to the fullest, right from the start. The early questions in the GCSE should have been at the same level as those at the end.

 

So, yes, the GCSE was easier but in its defence I would say that eventually it became quite demanding.

 

I understand the reason for the 'grading' of the questions was to allow those who were only ever going to get a low grade to sit the exam answer what they could and finish whenever it became tricky.

 

But what sort of nonsense is that? A language is very unforgiving. You study it at school/college and then visit the country and you either sink or swim. Why settle for (even encourage) mediocrity?

[Saintandy666]

Personally, I think it is better to have say 10 questions which are 2 easier 3 a little bit harder, and then 5 hard than just 10 hard questions. This is because then you assess how deep a students understanding is/how much they know. The latter option only accommodates for the brightest students.

[JustMike]

Given the fact I put zero effort in and was off my head most of the time you have a point.

 

so...you put zero effort in, were off your head, didnt revise and yet still managed to pass? Easier today then are they??

[JustMike]

Try a real job one day.

 

define "real job"

[Kingsland Codger]

Personally, I think it is better to have say 10 questions which are 2 easier 3 a little bit harder, and then 5 hard than just 10 hard questions. This is because then you assess how deep a students understanding is/how much they know. The latter option only accommodates for the brightest students.

 

'O' levels were aimed at the brighter students. If it was thought a student would struggle with 'O' levels then that student would take a different exam called a CSE.

[Thorpe-le-Saint]

Try a real job one day.

 

Yawn.

 

Anyway, which government was it that introduced the GCSEs? Oh that's right, the ****servatives.

Edited 18 June, 2010 by Thorpe-le-Saint

[Thorpe-le-Saint]

so...you put zero effort in, were off your head, didnt revise and yet still managed to pass? Easier today then are they??

 

This. But you see Mike, he won't answer that because he is that stupid he argued against his own argument!

Edited 18 June, 2010 by Thorpe-le-Saint

[View From The Top]

so...you put zero effort in, were off your head, didnt revise and yet still managed to pass? Easier today then are they??

 

But an HND was dead hard to get and academically rigorous! No, really, it was.

[for_heaven's_Saint]

I did my GCSEs about 4 years ago and to be honest was never really that stretched by them and got all 'A's. However, unless you are trying to get a job in a shop or fast food restaurant, no one actually bothers to look at your GCSE grades any more anyway. They're basically just a way of getting into college.

[Smirking_Saint]

GCSE's were IMO the single most pointless thing i have ever done, all bar my first job, which i could have achieved with significantly lower GCSE results i have never been asked about them.

 

I have often thought however that in order to make them more important they should introduce a sort of choice, if you are the academic type then you could go for the GCSE's and if you are not then start the first year/2 years of an apprenticeship ?? Surely that makes more sense ??

 

Anywho, my last Electrical Engineering Degree exam today, thank f*ck, i can tell you all something aswell, coasting GCSE's and even HNC/HND to some extend seriously disadvantages you when it comes to studying properly

[Thorpe-le-Saint]

GCSE's were IMO the single most pointless thing i have ever done, all bar my first job, which i could have achieved with significantly lower GCSE results i have never been asked about them.

 

I have often thought however that in order to make them more important they should introduce a sort of choice, if you are the academic type then you could go for the GCSE's and if you are not then start the first year/2 years of an apprenticeship ?? Surely that makes more sense ??

 

Anywho, my last Electrical Engineering Degree exam today, thank f*ck, i can tell you all something aswell, coasting GCSE's and even HNC/HND to some extend seriously disadvantages you when it comes to studying properly

 

Are we sure we want to get dune started on students?

 

The choice you mentioned already exists by the way

[Trader]

'O' levels were aimed at the brighter students. If it was thought a student would struggle with 'O' levels then that student would take a different exam called a CSE.

 

And a Grade 1 CSE was supposedly equivalent to an O-level.

 

Unfortunately employers took a different view - much the same as today's employers and universities who understand the real value of modern school qualifications - particularly in maths and the sciences.