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Original poster

Anger over AQA GCSE Higher Biology - any info?

90 replies

Abuelita · 18/05/2016 11:26

Twitter erupted yesterday after candidates taking AQA GCSE Unit 1 Higher Biology complained about the exam. One 15 year-old I spoke to said the paper didn't have much to do with biology and wasn't happy. Has anyone else been involved with the fallout?
www.localschoolsnetwork.org.uk/2016/05/students-take-to-twitter-to-express-anger-about-gcse-biology-paper

OP posts:
swingofthings · 19/05/2016 11:13

dd was amused/bemused but thought the outrage was overdone - so long as you kept your cool about answering the questions..
This is exactly what DD said. In relation to the definition of 'Independent' company, she had absolutely no idea, but assumed that as it was to do with drug testing, it was related to an mean to avoid bias so wrote her answer to that effect.

I do think that it is good that they are challenging kids wanting to study science at a higher level (mostly the case for those taking triple science) to be able to apply their learning rather than just recite it as ultimately, that's what science is all about. It was just more difficult for kids who don't cope as well with the unexpected/change as much as others.

throckenholt · 19/05/2016 11:53

One student was furious that she’d ‘wasted the last two years learning the carbon cycle, IVF and hormones for no reason.’ - from the original link.

Sad to see that the student in question sees no intrinsic value in knowing about those things - they are only valuable if they are in the exam. :(

Bolograph · 19/05/2016 12:03

I'm sick of university students saying "will this be on the exam", as if we can do a fifty contact hour course, with at least fifty hours of other work, and pack all of it into a 2 hour exam.

throckenholt · 19/05/2016 12:05

it does seem to be an increasing mindset over the years. If it isn't on the exam then it is not worth the effort of knowing it.

I think exams should be far more general - not specific snippets of knowledge but demonstration of wider understanding and ability to do joined up thinking about something.

Much harder to mark though - so unlikely to ever happen.

NicknameUsed · 19/05/2016 12:56

""Evidence must be scrutinised for any potential bias of the experimenter, such as funding sources or allegiances.""

How many 15/16 year olds actually read the exam spec on the AQA website? I was referring to the CGP revision guides.

"Sad to see that the student in question sees no intrinsic value in knowing about those things - they are only valuable if they are in the exam"

We are talking about 15/16 year olds here who have spent the last 5 years being told that they must pass their GCSEs. Everything is targeted towards this.

An adult might appreciate the broader learning base for the sake of it, but a stressed student isn't usually able to see beyond what is happening over the next few weeks.

I blame the system. Schools are chasing exam success rate targets at the expense of a broader education.

lljkk · 19/05/2016 12:59

Bolograph quoted from the revision guide above.
How many points did this controversial question count for, anyway?

throckenholt · 19/05/2016 13:23

Nickname - An adult might appreciate the broader learning base for the sake of it, but a stressed student isn't usually able to see beyond what is happening over the next few weeks.

That is my point - our whole system is wrong if it teaches kids there is only value in it if it is in the exam, and not in the actual knowledge itself. The exam should just be a confirmation that you have a decent body of knowledge, not an end in itself.

OurBlanche · 19/05/2016 13:28

How many 15/16 year olds actually read the exam spec on the AQA website? All of them, I'd hope. They get given copies, it will be shown to them again and again over the year.

But yes, the system is wrong. Government, schools and parents are all complicit in the 'pass the exam and move on' game.

It is so entrenched that now students pay for degrees they are demanding the same from lecturers... something needs to change. Sadly the changes in the pipeline will not make anything better.

Wordsmith · 19/05/2016 15:08

Caveat - my DS is doing Double Science so didn't sit this paper, BUT...

From the teenagers I know who have done it, the girls are all distraught and worried they won't get the grades they need for A level (even though this is only one of three biology papers); the boys are all a bit bemused and thought it was a bit weird. Which supports the argument that girls take it all more seriously.

However, having heard the arguments and seen the email AQA sent to schools, I can't help thinking that the questions were pretty reasonable if you expect kids to be able to think laterally and apply knowledge rather than just regurgitate facts.

Perhaps that's the fault of teachers or the system as a whole that puts so much emphasis on cramming and learning by rote?

Wordsmith · 19/05/2016 15:10

TheTeaFairy that supports my experience with boy/girl reaction to this.

bigTillyMint · 19/05/2016 15:19

DS sat it yesterday as part of his Double Science (he is doing B1, C1, P1 this year)

He thought the questions were a bit weird compared to all the past papers he had done and felt that he hadn't done as well as he had hoped to. He thought C1 today was OK, I think.

I think what is obvious from this, last years Maths GCSE and some of the AS level exams this year, is that there is a definite push to try to make the exams more focused on how the theory is applied in real life.

Hopefully schools/revision guide producers will start to reflect this sea-change ASAP!

bigTillyMint · 19/05/2016 15:21

Word/TeaFairy, that also supports my experience with boy/girl reactions to GCSE exams.

I don't think it's because boys take it less seriously, more that they are less outwardly emotional about it. Well that's how it is in our house!

Bolograph · 19/05/2016 15:42

Bolograph quoted from the revision guide above.

No, I quoted from the specification.

Anyone who's taking an exam who hasn't read the specification should be told: "read the specification". If there are bits you don't understand, that's a warning sign.

Bolograph · 19/05/2016 15:43

Schools are chasing exam success rate targets at the expense of a broader education.

If they're neglecting to teach stuff that's in the specification, then they aren't doing that very well.

TheFallenMadonna · 19/05/2016 16:26

An exam board can't be held to account for setting a question that isn't covered in a revision guide produced by a different publisher.

HarveySchlumpfenburger · 19/05/2016 16:59

Nor can they be held account for teachers not teaching part of the spec.

I wonder whether the increased focus on mastery and stretching able pupils outwards before upwards in primary may start to feed through and help a bit in future.

littledrummergirl · 19/05/2016 20:41

How many 15/16 year olds actually read the exam spec on the AQA website? I was referring to the CGP revision guides.

Ds1 did. The last piece of his revision is to read the spec and check he knows everything on it. I think he knows his specs inside out.

naffedoff · 19/05/2016 20:51

DS was a big taken aback by it at first but has checked through the unofficial mark scheme and feels he did ok. He said the paper was weird rather than difficult, though he messed up on the independent company question as he couldn't think laterally.

Nyama · 19/05/2016 21:02

What was the answer to the independent company q?

NicknameUsed · 19/05/2016 22:07

Not part of a large conglomeration or chain, not owned by anyone else.

Nyama · 19/05/2016 22:22

Ok thanks sounds like dd got a mark for that then

lljkk · 20/05/2016 07:36

DS says indie company Qstn was ONE MARK. One mark out of 3 exams (25% each of final grade). + 25% of the final mark is coursework. So people are fussing about 0.25% of the total marks.
FFS.

DS did stats GCSE last yr which is another reason he easily understood the Indie-Co. question. I had discussion last night with teens & bizarrely enough me + teen DS actually talked teen DD around (this never happens). Also, the questions had lots of potentially relevant info but the kids had to read carefully to make sure they answered the actual Qstn. At this point DD chipped in about how her geogphy teacher harps on at them to answer the actual question, that Miss takes perverse delight in writing red lines thru exam material that didn't answer the right question.

It's basic science stuff.

Wordsmith · 20/05/2016 08:37

To be homest the sense of entitlement from friends and their children affected by this has been a real eye opener. I am really being honest when I say that my reaction would be "oh dear, never mind." The idea that you are predicted a high grade but might not get it because the paper throws you a curve ball is completely alien to them. I did O levels nearly 40 years ago and it happened all the time - people just accepted it! AQA's response seems reasonable to me.

NicknameUsed · 20/05/2016 08:46

That was my reaction to DD. She already has an A* from her ISA, and, if anything, it will spur her on to revise more for units 2 and 3. Fortunately her exams are quite well spaced out and we have half term for plenty of revision as well.

UhtredRagnorsson · 20/05/2016 08:59

Wordsmith - I agree with you. I'd add that anyone who is complaining and saying that they don't do things like follow the news, should consider changing that MO now. Especially since these people will have the vote in a couple of years.

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