Uncle C
Well-known member
Laura, thats far too coherent an argument for a school leaver to assimilate.
Got something to say or just want fewer pesky ads? Join us... 😊
GCSE's
- Thread starter Paxton Dazo
- Start date
Laura, thats far too coherent an argument for a school leaver to assimilate.
ben andrews' girlfriend
Nurse Laura
Hehe tis true, what can I say?!
One of the kids will try it though.... let's sit back and wait for it....
Barrel of Fun
Abort, retry, fail
How can one prove that the human race is getting 'smarter'? We have greater knowledge than we did 50 years ago. My point is that there is much more evidence to suggest that grades are disproportionate, rather than hanging onto the fact that it is the people that are improving. I am not stating my preference either way.
One fact that is obvious is that subjects/exams are easier to pass (pass, not necessarily the grade standard) with the module system and higher levels of coursework.
Uncle C
Well-known member
The human race is getting smarter, but at a rate defined by evolution.
As mankind has been around for well over 2000 years, the last 20 years is less than 1% of this period.
If we are now progressing at a rate that the current crop of kids think, then evolution is out the window. I would love to here their new theory of evolution.
I would think that acceptance of this theory would largly rest on how you interpret "smarter".
If we are talking about raw intelligence, the ability to assimilate facts and use them to problem solve, then I have to say that all the evidence I have seen in my role as a job candidate interviewer, is to the contrary.
Believing that the intelligence of a given population can be measurably increased over one or two generations shows a fundamental misunderstanding of genetics.
(As genetics and evolution was taught to me in my 1976 O level anyway).
Raw intelligence hasn't changed, therefore, ipso facto, something else has.
Kids doing exams these days are in a no-win situation. They work their arses off to get the best grades that they can, if they fail they're labelled as stupid and if they pass they're just told that exams are easier these days than they used to be.
What's wrong with respecting and applauding the hard work that people put in to gain their results (whether that be GCSEs, A-Levels or whatever else) instead of denigrating their achievements at every opportunity.
What's wrong with respecting and applauding the hard work that people put in to gain their results (whether that be GCSEs, A-Levels or whatever else) instead of denigrating their achievements at every opportunity.
I think exam takers today work just as hard as I did, however, do you not think that the constantly improving results denigrates the achievements of earlier generations.
I "only" achieved 2 As, 3 Bs and 2 Cs in my GCE O levels. (Oh, and a D. But that was considered a fail in 1976).
In my school year of circa 300 students, only about 10 people managed an A grade in mathemetics.
As a generation, we weren't dim. Everyone, (mostly), worked hard.
I "only" achieved 2 As, 3 Bs and 2 Cs in my GCE O levels. (Oh, and a D. But that was considered a fail in 1976).
In my school year of circa 300 students, only about 10 people managed an A grade in mathemetics.
As a generation, we weren't dim. Everyone, (mostly), worked hard.
nwgull
Well-known member
There are a 3 fairly fundamental mistakes in this short sentence, yet this standard of writing still gets you a D grade in GCSE English?
I scraped a C in English 16 years ago, GCSEs must be piss easy these days.
SeagullTim
Boomer Sooner
Got mine
11 A *
1 A (RE)
Absolutely chuffed as...
I think you are what they call a complete and utter NERD.
Uncle C
Well-known member
Got mine
11 A *
1 A (RE)
Absolutely chuffed as...
I think he got the same response on here as someone bouncing on to announce they had a 10" willy
I think that people taking GCSEs and A Levels are better prepared, have better resources etc and do work very hard to achieve their grades, whilst grade boundaries are getting lower. HOWEVER, though exams may not be getting easier, syllabuses and what is required from them is and there can be little doubt about that. I took my A2s this summer and as preparation material and for practice papers etc we used O Level papers from the 1960s, which basically shows that we are now effectively two years behind academically when we leave school compared to 40/50 years ago.
Not true, grade boundaries are decided on how well the previous year did usually so if lots of people got A's the boundary for A's might go up a few marks the next year.
Fair enough. Its just different for A Levels then.
I have taken my A2s this year and it is slightly more complicated than that. Each paper is given a raw score, that is, the number of marks awarded by the marker out of whatever the paper's maximum mark is. Then, that mark converted to a UMS score based on the performace of everybody else in the country. For example this year a 45/60 raw score may equal 90/90 UMS because it has been a particularly poor group of students, whereas last year 45/60 may have got a 70/90 UMS. The UMS boundries never change. To get an A in A-level you must score a UMS of 480/600, a B = 420, C = 360 etc.
I'm not sure how it works for GCSE, but that is how A-Levels are calculated.
Exactly. Thats what I was led to believe GCSEs were marked like.
Walkers Cajun Squirrel
New member
- Mar 13, 2008
- 1,101
100% agree with that.
That how you came to your conclusion of 'whilst grade boundaries are getting lower.' I just said what he said in a less complicated way.
Yes. They may be lower in terms of raw marks, while the UMS grade boundaries stay the same, and there is evidence in SOME subjects, maybe not all, that the grade boundaries in terms of raw marks ARE getting lower.
Haha! Thanks, love you too. Nope, I most definitly am not a nerd! I always call myself one and get ripped to blazes.
To be honest, I am not going to get into too much of this because very few of us know a very small amount of it. The rest is just opinion based on what people have read or heard.
Clearly you have no knowledge on the subject whatsoever.
For a start, in English Gcse we write with a pen - very different to a key board.
Secondly, it isn't ALL on the exam, coursework is also included.
Lastly, spelling ( I know you commented on grammar) isn't worth a huge proportion of the marks.