Yearly warning not to take A-level maths with less than a 7 at GCSE

[noblegiraffe]

GCSE results day and therefore A-level sign-up day is coming.

So with that in mind I just thought I'd post the table of conversions from GCSE to A-level results for maths to show that there is a strong correlation. This is because A-level Maths basically starts with a quick review of grade 8/9 GCSE algebra content and then gets more difficult. Students starting with a 7 will have to work very hard to keep up, students with a 6 often flounder.

There are sixth forms and colleges that will accept students with a 6 onto A-level maths, but from many years of experience, this is not a good experience for the student. Many will drop out and switch courses early on (and therefore not appear in the results table), but some will struggle on for 2 years and then come out with a grade that really doesn't help them with university applications.

If you take A-level maths with a 6, even if you manage to complete the course (and a lot won't), about three quarters will get a D or below, with E the most common grade.

This data is from 2019 because obviously more recent data has been screwed up by covid.

If your child is keen to do maths, but gets a 6, please consider Core Maths which is designed to be taken alongside 3 A-levels and provides supportive maths content for A-level sciences and social sciences (e.g. psychology, geography).

If your child is going to do A-level maths (particularly if they are on a 7 but also 8/9), check that they have done summer bridging work so they hit the ground running in September.

I wonder if they are possibly candidates from a private arrangement eg online school. There's a school near us that allows them to do it with a 5 if they pass an algebra test on enrollment.

Roughly 1/3 of GCSE maths is directly algebraic, and up to another quarter might be indirectly algebraic. At A-level maths basically every question in pure maths relies on algebra.

So kind of weird for there to be someone good at algebra who does poorly at GCSE. The 15 or so people who you identified from the OP’s table are more likely people who for some other reason did poorly at GCSE maths (eg difficult family situation at that time) rather than them finally getting algebra at a-level.

I see ok. My DD is not a candidate for GCSE maths but she has a language processing disorder and finds the worded questions super hard. She ended up finding the higher paper much more accessible as there's a lot less of that on there. It may be that it helps some kids that the higher level A Level questions are more abstract, eg solve this problem, rather than the train gets to euston at 11:43 after leaving Milton Keynes at 9:01 how long did it take etc etc

I see. Generally maths GCSE and maths A-level examiners do their best to try and make sure that people are not excluded from maths due to their English language skills. Exams go through several rounds of review to ensure that they are clear, plain English and unambiguous.

However, both GCSE and A-level include worded questions (also called modelling questions), Edexcel A-level in particular has a lot of this). The aim of these questions is to ensure people can apply maths to real life. Some people (particularly people that have low literacy) hate them, but they are part of maths. You can get better at them via practice and learning how to turn prose into relevant equations!

Why do you say a 90s B is a 7 @Pythag?

@Pythag sorry I meant not a candidate for A level maths! She's finally qualified for an oral modifier so hopefully will get a modified paper for her retakes in maths in Nov. It just slightly changes the questions to make them easier to understand. She got a 3, very close to a 4 so hopefully it'll help. But yes, I completely understand the application to real life thing, it makes sense but there is a lot more of it on the foundation papers than the higher ones.

Grade inflation.

Those grade 5 candidates who went on to take A-level maths, let alone get a grade in it are not going to be usual candidates.

Most likely there was some reason that they bombed and got a grade 5 at GCSE that the college took account of, rather than the grade 5 being the genuine peak of their possible achievement at the point of sitting the exam.

I think a 90s B is equiv to a 6 and 7 - top 7 might have got an A. Based on %s getting it…I looked at the proportions a while back and total % getting B+ then and 6+ now was around the same….

I looked into this once as my children were saying my A in gcse maths from 1992 was the same as a 7 today. Something like 9% of candidates got an A then, so it equates to a 8 or 9.

“6th forms do contextualise. Tons of the selective ones prioritise FSM, looked after or previously looked after, PP kids and kids local low attaining partner schools as a 1st priority after EHCPs. Look up the admissions criteria for Harris Westminster, LAET, Brampton Manor etc etc.
And honestly, I'm not sure what to say as to your London comment. London is not the whole of the country and London has plenty of schools like the ones I've described, 2 of our local ones are like this and my daughter briefly went to one. They just had a 28% pass rate at one and 40% at the other. It's a record year for the second- they've never had higher than 35% before outsife of COVID! Both regularly have gangs outside and huge problems with county lines. Just because it's not on your doorstep, doesn't mean it doesn't exist and tbh that's not my point. The point is, no one in the school you describe would get a contextual offer based on their school, because that's not a low attaining school! It's not just about the type.”

@Foxesandsquirrels - believe what you want. Plenty of kids from the school I described most definitely get contextual offers from a variety of Russell Group unis, coupled with their postcode which happens to tick some marker. It is a well known fact locally. Just like plenty of high achieving Sixth Forms have lapped up all the top achievers leaving private schools this week.
You cannot have a situation where successive Governments underfund schools and unis and yet insist on high standards. Those institutions will tick the boxes superficially, but protect their own staff and achievements, by taking what makes their lives easier. That is just a fact of life. The politicians and press will spin whatever story that suits them.

Not sure if the curriculum is objectively harder. There was a period of coursework…. The A for the decade or something before 1-9 was replaced with a 7. let them have it 🤣

@Araminta1003 the postcode you live in and the school you go to are two different criteria for a contextual offer. You can have a contextual offer based on a personal situation, school wouldn't make a difference.