English Education System

[Scooba da Bass]

They could put a mark on the question saying 'higher'

Or they could save time and write 'Higher' on the front of the exam paper and only give it to the students who want to do higher?

 

[Cyfr]

People don't get a choice (or at least we didn't). I was put on higher because I have a high CAT score (they apparently predict our gcse grades from a test we did in year 7...)

 

[SilverHood]

the point is moot - if they spend time on questions they can't answer, then they deserve a D, or whatever they get.

To date, I have been told, by every single teacher, by every GSCE invigilator, by every college lecture, by every A-level invigilator, to not spend too much time on a single question.

If people cannot grasp the concept of timing themselves, then they should fail - learn the lesson, and do better at college / sixthform.

Failing GSCE's is hard - retaking them is easy.

 

[Munkey]

Cyfr, you do get a choice. Just go up to the examination officer (officer? pah) and say you want to change it from a Higher to an Intermediate. You can do this right up until the exam iirc. If they say no, you've gotta sit the Higher then sue. Perfectly entitled to.

 

[Scooba da Bass]

the point is moot - if they spend time on questions they can't answer, then they deserve a D, or whatever they get.

To date, I have been told, by every single teacher, by every GSCE invigilator, by every college lecture, by every A-level invigilator, to not spend too much time on a single question.

If people cannot grasp the concept of timing themselves, then they should fail - learn the lesson, and do better at college / sixthform.

Failing GSCE's is hard - retaking them is easy.

You're then stuck with an exam that has to be aimed at the average student. Anyone above average will end up with an A* or whatever it is now and anyone below average will end up with an U. The whole point of GCSEs is to categorise you for A-Levels, removing higher and lower level exams just hinders that.

 

[Cyfr]

Cyfr, you do get a choice. Just go up to the examination officer (officer? pah) and say you want to change it from a Higher to an Intermediate. You can do this right up until the exam iirc. If they say no, you've gotta sit the Higher then sue. Perfectly entitled to.

I've already done two Maths higher modulers so I can't change for final test apparently

 

[Gengi]

This thread is interesting.
My son is just sitting his SAT's and in my day <drifts off into a reverie > I wouldn't have known a SAT if it Sat on me. My schooling was fairly straight forward, clever kids were put in one class, less clever kids in another and the 'intellectually challenged' were catered for by an appropriate regimen of regular beatings and solid doses of ridicule. You sat 'o' grades if you were in the clever kids class, 'o' grades and cse's if you were in the less clever class, and only cse's if you were in the intelectually challenged class, the upside was you got to beat up the kids in the clever class.
Then at 16 or so the intelectually challenged kids all went off to work or the dole if they were not quite as intelectually challenged as they made out, the clever and less clever stayed on and did highers, then off to tertiary education if that was their route of choice.
The difference appears to be that then everyone sat the same exam, i.e. an 'o' grade was an 'o' grade was an 'o' grade so everyone knew where they stood. Now there appears to be confusion, the standard or ordinary grade has been separated into bands dependent on ability, all witht the same basic name but with secondary conditionals such as higher, or intermediate.
Yours,
A confused old fart.

Later

 

[Munkey]

modulers? what exam board are you doing???

 

[Cyfr]

Edexcel - we do two modulers, we just did the second one last week..

 

[Munkey]

I did edexcel last year and we had the option to change right up to the exam

 

[Deadmanwalking]

Indeed. We also had modules. I was in the Higher tier for the 2 modules and got an F and an E

Then intermediate for the final papers. And got %89+ plus on the last two, which took the awful modules up to an overall C

 

[Munkey]

aye, got a C....or a B....i cant remmeber now for my exam despite doing the Highet paper Which isnt quite as bad as I was expecting! Also managed to pass my chemistry (thank god)

 

[SilverHood]

You're then stuck with an exam that has to be aimed at the average student. Anyone above average will end up with an A* or whatever it is now and anyone below average will end up with an U. The whole point of GCSEs is to categorise you for A-Levels, removing higher and lower level exams just hinders that.

Hardly - the exam should be aimed at the full spectrum of students taking that exam. 2 exams, for a total of 3 hours hours examination time, + coursework should easily be an indicative of whether someone is bright, or not. They do it at A-levels - why not for GCSE's as well? Granted, A-Levels only go from A-E, and not down to H or whatever GCSE grades go to these days.

GCSE's should measure a students ability at a subject - it should not be tailor made to students so everyone could achieve some form of certificate they can stick on the wall and feel proud of. Splitting papers into higher / lower tiers does just that, and defeats the purpose of end of school exams.

 

[Scooba da Bass]

Nobody cares about GCSEs though. No employer ever will care if you got an A on GCSE History or an E, no university will ever care if you got an A on GCSE PE or an E, trying to assign some kind of value to a test that is viewed as worthless seems pointless unless you are trying to make students who got As at GCSE feel better.

A levels in comparison are vaguely valued, if only because they are used by universities. I'd imagine you also support the removal of A/S levels and GNVQs. After all a student should have to do a standardized test, AS and NVQs aren't aimed at the full spectrum of students.

 

[Cdr]

The place I applied for a job last year cared about GCSEs, they wanted at least 5 A-C (including Maths, English and science). Without it I wouldnt have even been considered. It all depends on the job you're going for.

 

[caLLous]

I don't even remember what I got in my GCSE's tbh, it was about 6 years ago. Last time I had to 'remember' was on my last job application and I just wrote any old grades down for it.

 

[SilverHood]

The reason (almost) no one cares about GCSE's is because it's not one standard - is a C at intermediate worth the same as a C at higher? Who knows? The GCSE is worth the same on paper, but the diluting devalues it.
Making it one exam, for everyone, would atleast make it of some value to those who took it, meaning it would be a qualification, and not a hoop to jump through so you could get to college / sixthform.

A levels in comparison are vaguely valued, if only because they are used by universities. I'd imagine you also support the removal of A/S levels and GNVQs. After all a student should have to do a standardized test, AS and NVQs aren't aimed at the full spectrum of students.

A/S levels are good in principle, but the implementation was terrible. Yet more hoops to jump through, to get to Higher Education, rather than a free standing qualification. No such thing as NVQ's anymore... called VCE's or whatever. Also flawed in implementation, as no one at my college knew what they were worth in the world. But they did give UCAS points, so people took them. (and were shafted, when they realised prefference was given to A-level students).

And when did I say they weren't aimed at the full spectrum of students? If you sit a an AS (or A) level exam, you can at the most get an A, and the worst a fail. (Lowest grade is E). There's no diluting - everyone takes the same exam, so the value of the A-level, as you said yourself, is worth something in the world. The exam is aimed at everyone - but the standard required to reach a grade is higher.

 

[Scooba da Bass]

The reason (almost) no one cares about GCSE's is because it's not one standard - is a C at intermediate worth the same as a C at higher? Who knows? The GCSE is worth the same on paper, but the diluting devalues it.
Making it one exam, for everyone, would atleast make it of some value to those who took it, meaning it would be a qualification, and not a hoop to jump through so you could get to college / sixthform.

That's your interpretation of why no one cares. Mine would be that it's a horribly pointless series of exams that tests your ability to read a book and remember it. Nothing you learn at GCSE, especially study technique, beyond the most general concepts is useful for later on in life, whether work or school.

 

[SilverHood]

That's your interpretation of why no one cares. Mine would be that it's a horribly pointless series of exams that tests your ability to read a book and remember it. Nothing you learn at GCSE, especially study technique, beyond the most general concepts is useful for later on in life, whether work or school.

Exactly, which is why it needs changing. Changing it so you dont have to 2 or 3 different groups of people, who read the same book, and yet can't achieve the same grades is but part of that.