When (and why) did exams get shorter?

[DorotheaDiamond]

Back in the dark ages I did O levels when all exams were 2.5 hours plus (I found my maths paper and it was 2 2.5 hour papers and I remember the rest being the same). A levels were 3 hours.

Now GCSE maths papers are 2 lots of 90 mins, and A levels seem to be 2 or 2.5 hours.

when did they change and why?

Maths gcse is 3x1.5 hours so only 30 minutes less.

I have often wondered the same thing.
The school day is so shorter. We finished at 3:50pm and started at 8:50am

I think part of it is because some students are entitled to extra time. 25% added onto 3 hours would seem too much I think.

I wish someone would tell the English Language exam setters that exams are meant to have got shorter.

(Plus, it's not true that all O levels were 2.5hrs plus. Last time this came up I checked my 1982 papers.)

A slightly more serious answers. O levels were done by the 'top' children only. How long were CSEs?
It is probably harder on average for lower ability to focus that long. My DD was certainly exhausted by around 90-120 mins which means we have a balance between extra time for slow processing and exhaustion for trying so hard.

A-level papers were, though.

It is different for different subjects.

The a level I currently teach has two exams. one is 2 hours 30 mins and the other one is 3 hours.

A levels are 2 years later, again with only the top slice of pupils sitting them.
GCSEs are meant to be accessible to all abilities. They aren't really these days since reform imo, but they are meant to be.

Students do way more exams (and more subjects) these days so many many many more hours in total. It's actually crucifying.

It was Tory Ed Sec way back when ASs were a thing who restricted the length of individual exams . I forget who.

Yes exactly @Piggywaspushed it is not unusual for y11 students to do 30+ exams in May/June of y11. It's a punishing schedule.

I teach three A level subjects:
geography has 3 papers: all three are 2h15 so 6h 45 min
geology has 3 papers varying lengths but total 6 hours 15 min
environmental science has 2 papers three hours each. Total of 6 hours.

Timetabling (particularly) with extra time is much easier with shorter exams. The school day tends to finish slightly earlier now, and so a 2.5 hour exam with extra time might mean missing the school bus home.

One big advantage of two shorter papers over one longer one is that if someone is ill, they may still be able to get a grade on the basis of one paper. This was exploited further last year when they separated the papers by about 10 days in each subject, in the hope that very few people would miss both, even if covid was rife.

It's also possible, in the event of exam clashes, to squeeze three shorter papers into a day, getting rid of any need for overnight "quarantine".

Also - don’t assume a shorter paper is easier! I teach exams where in my opinion the time given is very tight and an extra half an hour would
make the whole thing much better. It’s like those artificially short timings they give contests on the Bake Off. For a 20 mark A level question they have about 25 minutes and it’s an insanely short amount of time for the amount of content and knowledge they’re supposed to be able to put into that answer.

That’s the same as my old school day, but I realised recently that despite my DD finishing 30 mins earlier classroom time is actually 5 mins longer as she gets 45 mins instead of an hour for lunch, plus they scrapped the afternoon break which was 20 mins.

tbh with the time it took getting out and back in for the playtime it’s probably even more than 5 mins extra class time.

I teach A Level English Lit. For my exam board, pupils do 2 exam paper, each of 2 hours 30 mins, so 5 hours in total. I'm sure my pupils would LOVE for it to be longer - pupils are expected to do a lot in less time! I find this especially at GCSE... pupils really struggle with lack of time.

English Language GCSE is 2hrs 15 and A level Unseen is the same.

@Notellinganyone I think you are misinformed. AQA English GCSE is 2 x 1hr 45min. English Literature GCSE is 1 x 1hr 30min and 1 x 2hr15 min.

FWIW, AQA A level English Lit is 1 x 2hrs 30min, 1x 3hrs and two coursework essays, each 1,500 words long.

@ElegantPuma Aqa Lit GCSE P1 is 1 hour 45 min

Ha ha. Students sitting GCSE English exams alone (that's lit and Lang- which is the vast majority of kids) will face around 8 hours in an exam room. That's plus their other GCSEs.

I can't comment on length of the day, but we're already one of the most inefficient countries in terms of hours spent in school. Length of school day and length of terms does not equate to amount of learning.

GCSEs and A levels have a greater element of coursework than they did a generation ago.

Some of my O Level (1987) and A levels (1988), the exam papers were the only form of assessment for that subject over the entire course. No coursework whatsoever. I imagine modern written exams are shorter if that qualification is also assessed in other ways.

theres some course work for practical subjects like drama but not generally for academic subjects.

I agree there are definitely more exam papers now. This seems fairer as there’s less bias if you happen to be unwell that day and underperform and better for pupils with SEN who require extra time and probably struggle with long stretches of concentrating at the best of times. What advantage are longer exams?

Some of my O Level (1987) and A levels (1988), the exam papers were the only form of assessment for that subject over the entire course. No coursework whatsoever.

This is the case for academic GCSE subjects now.

Thank you @abitsharp - you are quite right. I agree with your earlier post that the whole exam season is very gruelling for the kids. I wish that people who claim exams have got easier had to sit 30+ papers in such a short period of time!

DD sat 22 different exam papers last year. And that was with one entirely coursework subject (Art) and one mostly coursework subject (Drama).

I was the first year of GCSEs and I sat about 12. I agree my papers were longer, but DD has still done way more overall.

School days may be shorter but breaks are also shorter.
My old school day was 9-3.45, whereas DD's was 8.30-3, but she only got 30 minutes for lunch and 15 minutes for a morning break whereas I had 60 minutes and 20 minutes.

1982 O levels:
Eng Lang1 2hrs & Eng Lang2 2hrs
Maths2 2.5hrs + ?
RS 2.5hrs
Eng Lit 2.5 hrs (P&P question: From your knowledge of the characters give your impressions of two of the following marriages Mr&Mrs Bennett, Lydia&Wickham, Charlotte&Collins. Support your answer by detailed reference to the novel)
Latin1 2.5hrs & Latin2 1.5hrs
French3 1.5hrs + Oral & Listening?
Physics1 2hrs + Multichoice
Chemistry ? + Multichoice