GCSE standards

[Kez100]

Following on from another thread which went off-topic a bit between me and Geopuzzles, I've started this one.

I'll start with my thoughts on GCSE grades - only thoughts and I'm happy to be batted into a corner to change my view.

Firstly standards:

I think current GCSE standards are different and so shouldn't be compared to old O Level grades, or even early GCSE grades. I think this is why it's difficult for employers (many of whom will be O level or early GCSE era).

Seems to me, A and A* students are the old O level A-C students. So, they are now squeezed into two grades, whereas we had 3 passing grades (A,B,C).

CSE students are A grade GCSE if they were grade 1 CSE and GCSE B-G (Grade 2 and lower).

Secondly the exam system:

The system of modules and controlled assessment (not the old coursework) is a good one because it allows children more time in which to demonstrate their ability. I appreciate the difficulty for teachers in the lost teaching time and adminstrating them around illness of students etc, but overall I can see the fairness in this. Exam costs must be much higher.

Some children - like myself - suffered terribly from hayfever and it ruined our exam season (we will never know if it actually affected our grades, of course). Now, with less % being sat in the summer, everyone gets a more equal chance. Also life is more like controlled assessment. You get told the question, you plan the work and then get on with it. You also need to work over a period of time rather than cram in a few months. All good training for life.

I can see the internal disadvantages for the school but I think the current system is fairer generally and probably does give children greater chance at a better grade but only because it's a fairer system and many were disadvantaged by the old way: 3 hours of exams, all on one/two days.

Discuss!

Exams are very different now, in both good and bad ways. I suffered from hay fever and so changes to the exam season seem good to me. Modern exams often seem to be designed to test how children use information rather than memory tests and that is a better reflection of what they will need to do later. However - you can get grade A at GSCE English with poor grammar and spelling, one of my children did just that. I find it hard to remember what maths I studied at each level but GSCE doesn't test understanding of mathematical issues, some questions are very basic. My children hear real French speakers far more than I did so understand conversation much better than I do. In general the breadth of the syllabus in most subjects seems to have reduced and I certainly didn't see my children work hard at GSCE so I do feel the exams are less demanding overall.

Exams are used to select an elite. They used to select people with good memories who were either intelligent or worked hard or both. Now they don't single out a small group for special treatment and other means of selection have to be used. That means extra reading around the subject for university, or extra tests or interviews - all taking time that used to be spent enjoying yourself. I feel rather sorry for modern children.

circular in the main further did go...further, yes. :D For example, in mechanics questions, in regular you might have movement in one plane or two, in further you would have movement in two or three. Same with those snooker ball things - more variables, more collisions, more complexity. In prob, in regular you looked at - I can't remember, but not all the distributions. In further you looked at more distributions (probably not all of them) and so on. In complex numbers, the idea of them was in regular, but the whole 'complicated questions involving the Z plane' was more a further topic. It was a very long time ago obviously but I have very clear memories of my further maths lessons since there were only 3 of us doing the course, the school wasn't supposed to officially be doing it, so we had our lessons before school or at lunchtime squeezed into a corner of the staff room. Happy days! :)