GCSE results my synical mind

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I left school in 1995..... our head teacher at the time said we were the worst year group he'd ever seen. Back then the number of students getting a billion A* were few and far between. To get those grades you actually needed to be clever.

Over the last 20 years getting A* grades across the board seems to be the norm. Year on year pupils have been getting brighter and the youth of today make our future look strong. So we're led to believe.

My own opinion is that exams have been dumbed down or that marking has become slacker. There has been little to nothing that gives me the impression that the last 20 years of students have been notably smarter.... not by the state of social media and the zombies it seems to have created.

So todays news of "significant decline" in top marks is no surprise. Has the penny finally dropped and marking become tougher or the exams have been made as hard as they were back in the day.

I'm sure there are plenty of students who genuinely have worked hard, earned their grades and are smart.... but on the whole. I'm not so sure.
 
My son has just got his GCSE results today. My observations are that the work is just as hard. What has changed from "our day" is how they are marked although that is also changing. There were a number of years were coursework was king. Pupils were allowed to refine this coursework so the final piece that was entered to be marked was draft 3-4, not draft 1. Each draft was looked at by your teacher, comments were made to improve it. Parents or teachers, parents mainly, could sit at home and do some of the coursework for you. If you aren't getting that right then you didn't deserve to do well. The final exam was a small part of the mark, basically you had it in the bag before then.

Two years ago the coursework element was reduce significantly, hence the reduction in A and A* grades. My son did very little coursework for his exams this year, although some subjects were still coursework heavy. Next year the system changes again so it is virtually all exams and so results will go down again. This is right, harsh on the kids involved, as the system for the last 10yrs has given out A* for fun.

In answer to your question, the work was just as hard, the method of how it was judged was easier but it is now being toughened up again.
 
Didn't know the queen binary or village one.

Queen - didn't learn it
Binary - probably should know it
Village - didn't learn it and its a load of balls. Its a collection of houses.
 
Lord Tyrion said:
My son has just got his GCSE results today. My observations are that the work is just as hard. What has changed from "our day" is how they are marked although that is also changing. There were a number of years were coursework was king. Pupils were allowed to refine this coursework so the final piece that was entered to be marked was draft 3-4, not draft 1. Each draft was looked at by your teacher, comments were made to improve it. Parents or teachers, parents mainly, could sit at home and do some of the coursework for you. If you aren't getting that right then you didn't deserve to do well. The final exam was a small part of the mark, basically you had it in the bag before then.

Two years ago the coursework element was reduce significantly, hence the reduction in A and A* grades. My son did very little coursework for his exams this year, although some subjects were still coursework heavy. Next year the system changes again so it is virtually all exams and so results will go down again. This is right, harsh on the kids involved, as the system for the last 10yrs has given out A* for fun.

In answer to your question, the work was just as hard, the method of how it was judged was easier but it is now being toughened up again.
Click to expand...

That's very interesting. I don't remember much coursework in my day....but your explanation of the draft, re draft, final version does make a lot of sense. I guess if the student is actually learning from the redraft process then its all good. I suspect however a lot used it as a means to an end.

hope your son did well by the way.
 
How much easier has the internet made learning?


In times gone by you could sit and stare at a sum at home till you were blue in the face and still not get it. now I am sure there is a video walking you through each step.

Need an analysis on that book you have been reading? Need a load of good quotes? bang there you go.
 
adam6177 said:
only just :whistle: written English has never been a strong point of mine, always accused of writing how I talk...... something that got me into a lot of trouble at uni!



5.... happy considering my history knowledge is appalling.

I work in the finance industry....Maths, IT - that's my thing.
Click to expand...

same for me, got the history one wrong and the chemistry one I stupidly got wrong.
 
garyinderry said:
How much easier has the internet made learning?


In times gone by you could sit and stare at a sum at home till you were blue in the face and still not get it. now I am sure there is a video walking you through each step.

Need an analysis on that book you have been reading? Need a load of good quotes? bang there you go.
Click to expand...

makes it a hell of a lot easier to procrastinate though Gary :D
 
adam6177 said:
That's very interesting. I don't remember much coursework in my day....but your explanation of the draft, re draft, final version does make a lot of sense. I guess if the student is actually learning from the redraft process then its all good. I suspect however a lot used it as a means to an end.

hope your son did well by the way.
Click to expand...

I was quite shocked at how they were able to re-work things before it finally got marked. Kids were really helped over the line, giving record figures in the past of course which is what govts want. We had a friend whose child did GCSE's 3 years ago and she did most of the coursework for the kid. This type of manipulation is why the system needed to be changed.

I feel for next years batch as they are going to have lower marks than previous ones through no fault of their own. The joy of politicians playing with eduction, every minister wants to leave their mark.

My son did okay thanks. He is solid rather than spectacular but he worked hard, got good results and so can go on to do A levels at his chosen place. We can't ask for more than that. Happy dad :)
 
garyinderry said:
How much easier has the internet made learning?


In times gone by you could sit and stare at a sum at home till you were blue in the face and still not get it. now I am sure there is a video walking you through each step.

Need an analysis on that book you have been reading? Need a load of good quotes? bang there you go.
Click to expand...


Not only is every answer available online for subjets such as maths but for essay writing you can find out how many marks you get for answering each point and how you answer them to get those points. For example there may be an 8 point question about climate change. You will get 3 marks for making these 3 points, 2 marks for these points etc. It is really laid out for you. If you are prepared to put the work in the schools and exam boards have everything you need to revise well and answer correctly. Light years ahead of pre-internet days.

Cheers Stokie. One worry ticked off. Parenting is quite stressful.
 
Missis T was on about this a couple of weeks ago when she said the top 1% of each year went to university when we were kids. They were brainy. Proper brainy. You knew they were clever. Now it seems people go to school then say they are going to Uni before they even have there results. If they cannot get into one there is always another that requires lesser grades. As long as you can pay. some Uni courses now seem made up.
Went on holiday a few years ago and was talking to a guy from Holland, he was saying there education system is set up to recognise differant kids with differant skills. Some academic skills, maths, English science are encouraged down that route. Those with practical skills, joinery, metal work etc are encouraged down that route. IT kids down that route. Says it worked well.
Dont know how some parents cope with homework now a days, because it seems every year there was a new way of learning re maths, spelling,. Some parents struggled never mind kids.
 
The comment about politicians and others interfering and making constant changes is so true. You will no doubt shoot this old codger down but what was wrong with the teaching methods of years ago? Boring stuff like tables, spelling from primary school through to proper exams at a later age. All the interference over many years has done a great disservice to our population.
 
This has been an issue for years, ever since GCSEs came in. When I were a lad, I started studying for O levels then the change was made to GCSEs. The difference was chalk and cheese with the O level syllabus being far more difficult. The move to A levels was then a shock for years below me as the syllabus had not changed and assumed an O level set of skills and knowledge. There were no A* grades back then but so many people started getting a grades that they had to add a higher level to differentiate the educational cream of the crop.
As for university, the kudos of having a degree has pretty much disappeared. There is a massive issue in trying to convince parents that if their kids’ skill set fits or the style of learning is more suited, an apprenticeship is a far better way of starting a career. We are in the process of starting a charitable trust in the name of my dad to help promote and fund apprenticeships in Rutland as parents there really do look down on them as a viable way of kids getting on in the world.
 
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