Record A Level results again
Discussion
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11012369
So, are these teenagers getting smarter, or are the exams now easier?
So, are these teenagers getting smarter, or are the exams now easier?
funkyrobot said:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11012369
So, are these teenagers getting smarter, or are the exams now easier?
Both or neither, or one or the other. There, that put it to bed for another year So, are these teenagers getting smarter, or are the exams now easier?
funkyrobot said:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11012369
So, are these teenagers getting smarter, or are the exams now easier?
What do you think?So, are these teenagers getting smarter, or are the exams now easier?
I know what my teacher sister thinks.
The kids are the same. If the results are better it's either that the teaching profession as a whole has improved its methods year on year for thirty years or more OR that the exams are easier.
Which seems the more likely scenario?
If you've been in teaching for five years you might believe the hype. When you've been in it for twenty you know the score.
But are the exams easy? No. I'll bet they're not. Are the easier? Or marked more leniently? Maybe?
An A-level is still an achievement. An A* is still very well done.
Oh God it's that time of year again.
I just know that some sprogs on internship / work experience / whatever sometimes ask me, "I don't understand this..."
I explain along the lines of "Well you already should know that... :insert an example of some basic scientific concept that they ought to have learnt atO level GCSE: "
Sprog looks blank.
Me: "err you have studied :insert some even more basic concept:
Sprog looks even more blank.
The conclusion I have come to is that exams are different, I know they do some things that tbh I find hard at first but things do move on, but they are taught to pass them better. This might mean a narrower knowledge.
Wake me up in a year so we can do this again, it's been fun.... not.
I just know that some sprogs on internship / work experience / whatever sometimes ask me, "I don't understand this..."
I explain along the lines of "Well you already should know that... :insert an example of some basic scientific concept that they ought to have learnt at
Sprog looks blank.
Me: "err you have studied :insert some even more basic concept:
Sprog looks even more blank.
The conclusion I have come to is that exams are different, I know they do some things that tbh I find hard at first but things do move on, but they are taught to pass them better. This might mean a narrower knowledge.
Wake me up in a year so we can do this again, it's been fun.... not.
Not necessarily.
There is another effect at play. Supposedly today papers are marked to a standard. The number of marks they recieve determines the grade achieved.
That's not how it used to work.
Back in the day in the early 80s papers were marked to a standard. They got a number of marks. Then all the papers were ranked top to bottom based on the number of marks. Then a fixed percentage of papers were given A grades (the ones with the highest marks). Then the following percentage were given B grades and so on through C,D,E and finally F.
By doing this if the paper was accidentally really hard or really easy it didn't matter. The same percentage of kids got As, Bs, Cs and so on.
This was clearly [b]unfair[/i]. It meant that around the median mark things got very, very tight. The difference between a C and an E (i.e. the space occupied by the D grade) could be as little as one mark.
Or, at least, the above is my understanding of how it used to work. These days the kids get a mark regardless of how well their competitors do. In some ways this is fairer. But it does make the A level less useful as a differentiator for universities...
There is another effect at play. Supposedly today papers are marked to a standard. The number of marks they recieve determines the grade achieved.
That's not how it used to work.
Back in the day in the early 80s papers were marked to a standard. They got a number of marks. Then all the papers were ranked top to bottom based on the number of marks. Then a fixed percentage of papers were given A grades (the ones with the highest marks). Then the following percentage were given B grades and so on through C,D,E and finally F.
By doing this if the paper was accidentally really hard or really easy it didn't matter. The same percentage of kids got As, Bs, Cs and so on.
This was clearly [b]unfair[/i]. It meant that around the median mark things got very, very tight. The difference between a C and an E (i.e. the space occupied by the D grade) could be as little as one mark.
Or, at least, the above is my understanding of how it used to work. These days the kids get a mark regardless of how well their competitors do. In some ways this is fairer. But it does make the A level less useful as a differentiator for universities...
el stovey said:
V8mate said:
Bit too linear a change for it to simply be the children getting smarter.
What was the change in the mid-late 80s? Was it the introduction of course work going towards the final grade?V8mate said:
Bit too linear a change for it to simply be the children getting smarter.
Ridiculous state of affairs. The grades should reflect the brightest each year, as they were up to the 80’s otherwise there is no comparison. A =10% B=20% and C=40% D=20% E=10% F=FAILThis way as an employer you have an idea of the candidate’s ability across ages.
At the current rate in 20 years we will have 50% of candidates gaining an 'A', which is pointless. And chuff me, the current educational standard of school leavers….
By the very definition of this argument that fact a teacher needs a degree to teach is neither here nor there.
And what you're really saying is, its now easier to cheat than ever. If the internet had been like it is today when I was doing my exams (as opposed to dial up 56k) I would have done a damn site better too. As I would have done far better, afterall the world is at every childs fingertips now.
And what you're really saying is, its now easier to cheat than ever. If the internet had been like it is today when I was doing my exams (as opposed to dial up 56k) I would have done a damn site better too. As I would have done far better, afterall the world is at every childs fingertips now.
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