New GSCEs too difficult?

[Trishtrash]

"In GCSE English it's all exams – there is no coursework – and pupils are not allowed to bring in any of the texts. They effectively have to memorise three texts and 18 poems. The expectation is killing them.'

The above is a quote from today's Daily Mail - sorry!

Am I being unreasonable to think that that is not an unreasonable thing to require of an A-Level Student? I did my A-Levels over 30 years ago in a bog-standard comprehensive and we couldn't do any coursework ahead of the game and we certainly couldn't take any of the texts into the exam (that would have made it so much easier!!).

I remember having to memorise vast swathes of poetry (Keats, Wordsworth, Somerset Maugham etc...) and chunks of text (Doris Lessing, Return of the Native, A Winter's Tale are ones that I vaguely remember) in the expectation that we would need to quote from the poetry/texts to support a variety of themes/ideas that we might be asked questions on.

I have no idea about the rest of the curriculum as I did Art, English and History. I definitely had to memorise tons for the History element (I did modern History so stuff about Russian Revolution, WW1 & 2 and the EEC). I know that kids are under enormous pressure now and I got an A for my English Literature but there was no A* around then from what I remember (it WAS a long time ago!)

Is the problem that the teachers haven't been adequately prepared or supported to teach for this style of exam? If the kids are going in after two years of expecting another style of exam then I really feel for them but is this the case?

I suspect she is looking at data before 1972, when people could leave school at 15, and lots did. So none of them took any exams. Everything changed in 1972 when school leaving age was raised to 16.

@BoneyBackJefferson you are quite right. I was born in jan 72, so must have taken them in 87. Pretty sure I went to uni in sept 89. I'm not a good one for dates, which didn't help when studying a history degree.

Not sure about other subjects but the higher tier GCSE Maths paper 3 this week was unbelievably easy.

I sat GCSEs in 1984 they were an experimental exam whereby you could achieve both Olevels and CSEs so all Olevel grades from A-C also got CSE grade 1, grades D -E also got CSEs 2 and 3 respectively. I think it was to test an exam which everyone could sit and get a qualification from

reetgood

That takes time. I can analyse an ECG or someone having a heart attack, from first principles, and tell you things like which part of the heart is currently dieing and extrapolate from that both the amount of damage and which coronary artery is blocked and whether there is involvement of the conducting system and where that involvement is.

I can also look at an ECG for less than a second and tell you the rhythm. It's over 20 years since I worked in cardiology. A friend found some old 'test cards' and tested me, I got them all right.

If your heart is in VF you need a shock from a defib and you need it ASAP.

As soon as the shock is given you need someone looking at the ECG to tell whether it worked and what rhythm you are in because you may need a further shock, and this should be done in seconds not minutes, you don't have time.

OP, memorising quotes is not key. I can't do that but when I am discussing the text in front of my I can do so perceptively. I just have a rubbish memory.

I was born in jan 72, so must have taken them in 87. Pretty sure I went to uni in sept 89

You're off a year, I think. I did my O levels in 87 but was born September 1970. So the students who took exams in 87 would have been born between September 70 and August 71.

I was born in Jan 1972. We were the first year to sit the GCSE's in 1988.

@ohreallyohreallyoh I'm off a year in terms of when I went to uni. It was 1990. I definitely took my GCSE's in 1988 and I was definitely the first year.