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Original poster

Is there any actual evidence about the corrolation between the number of GCSE's taken & the grades achieved?

38 replies

KatyMac · 21/02/2013 21:23

That I can access?

'cos I'm a pain & I want to know

OP posts:
LIZS · 24/02/2013 20:38

I think your argument should be that she needs as many at C or above as possible and that studying so many will compromise that. Still Shock at the logic that a subject you take in Year 9 can outweigh the value of those taken later !

Original poster
KatyMac · 24/02/2013 20:35

BTEC science in yr 9 GCSEs in yrs 10 & 11

& with the best will in the world, she isn't bright; she is average academically & she will struggle to get Cs in most of them (obv Music, Dance & Drama will probably be higher grades)

OP posts:
LIZS · 24/02/2013 20:31

Why BTEC Science and 2 Science GCSEs (are either Double or Triple) Hmm Surely it is essentially the same syllabus ? BTECs may be "worth" 4 GCSE passes but I'm not convinced employers view them as such unless strictly relevant.

Theas18 · 24/02/2013 20:29

Hmm

Round here the comps put bright kids in for everything they can get then to pass (at least that's what it seems from the outside looking in). Ds has a mate who joined his selective school with 14 A/*. However still only double science award, so I do question whether these area all in useful subjects...

That standard amount for ds and his mates is 10 academically rigerous subjects. A few have more if they do variants of maths, or family languages.

Original poster
KatyMac · 24/02/2013 20:26

GCSE Music, Eng Lang, Eng Lit, Science & more science (well that's not what they are called but...), Geog, Spanish, Maths
BTec Dance, Drama, Science & Applied Business

I have managed to get them to drop the third science & RE/Ethics, so she is only doing 12

But she has been off with glandular fever, & want me to take action to prevent her being ill again........can you guess what my solution will be?

OP posts:
Original poster
KatyMac · 24/02/2013 20:22

I know DD is in an unusual position (wanting an alternative career in the short term); but I wish the school were more flexible about individual needs - they are quite stubborn about children with additional needs doing excessive GCSEs

I guess I'd just like a bit of differentiation RiversideMum - DD thinks she will retrain when she is 30

Hi Picturesinthefirelight - we are having a dancing trauma weekend here

OP posts:
Millais · 24/02/2013 20:20

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Picturesinthefirelight · 24/02/2013 20:11

My dd will go to a selective school and will take 9 GCSEs. The school has the best results in the area (though as it is selective you would think so).

RiversideMum · 24/02/2013 20:05

If you are ancient like me then you will recall that the powers that be thought that an 8 subject O level education was too narrow. This was also the rationale of the 4 subject AS courses. My DD did 13 (including add maths) and her school, like most round here, works on a 2 week timetable. So there is less teaching time per subject than in the old days, but then kids have the chance to do 3 sciences, languages, humanities, art, music ...

muminlondon · 24/02/2013 19:44

Good luck - can't find any more (but some interesting DfE research on early entry). It does seem a lot - back in the dark ages I took 8 O-levels and we managed to have at least 2 hours a week per subject plus PE and RE, and much more break time than they get now. I don't know how they would timetable 14 subjects.

Original poster
KatyMac · 24/02/2013 15:11

That is exactly the sort of thing I mean; I've been unhappy with the 14 GCSEs they want DD to do & I wanted stuff to take into a meeting with me

OP posts:
muminlondon · 24/02/2013 14:58

In fact this debate has been going on for years - Ofsted warned 8-9 better than 10-12 in 2003.

Suggestions by Pearson/Edexcel last year to limit number of GCSEs to 8-10 here.

muminlondon · 24/02/2013 14:50

Do you mean that if you take too many subjects you can drop grades? That there is an optimum number of exams before your brain explodes/teaching time reduces?

Tried to google this and found some comments by the Eton head in 2008. Not very scientific but perhaps this is the 'research' Michael Gove has used to base his Ebacc on - most of his other policies are back of envelope territory!