i got AAAAC for my Scottish Highers - 5 years ago though ;)
i don't know about England, but in Scotland you got an A if 70% or more of your paper was correct - that's the real joke. You really need to aim to not get an A and still pass. In most other countries 70% is a bad C (assuming that A-D are a pass and E is a fail) and you need 95% for an A and 98% for an A*
UK Exam Results Day
Quote:Original post by CJWard
I studied Scottish Advanced Highers in 2002, which were much harder than A-levels at the time. When I went back to my old school I looked at the past papers from 2004 and I have already noticed a significant drop in the difficulty.
I've definitely noticed that myself. Some of the heads of department at my school had genuine difficulty with some of the exams from 5 years ago when they looked over them.
Whereas the papers have plummeted in difficulty, I would agree.
Quote:Original post by ukdeveloperQuote:Original post by CJWard
I studied Scottish Advanced Highers in 2002, which were much harder than A-levels at the time. When I went back to my old school I looked at the past papers from 2004 and I have already noticed a significant drop in the difficulty.
I've definitely noticed that myself. Some of the heads of department at my school had genuine difficulty with some of the exams from 5 years ago when they looked over them.
Whereas the papers have plummeted in difficulty, I would agree.
I forgot to mention when I asked the teachers about it when I went back to school to meet them they told me the standards have significantly dropped. From all the evidence shown I think it is difficult to put an arguement forward suggesting exams are equaly as difficult as they work 20 or so years ago.
I did my AS and got AAAB for maths, physics, computing and chemistry.
I haven't seen any past papers, so I don't know first hand if the exams are getting easier. But if A levels have got easier I think that the GCSEs have also done so greatly. I didn't have to do any work at all for the GCSEs and got good marks, though I had to work for my AS.
I haven't seen any past papers, so I don't know first hand if the exams are getting easier. But if A levels have got easier I think that the GCSEs have also done so greatly. I didn't have to do any work at all for the GCSEs and got good marks, though I had to work for my AS.
GCSEs are easy, and I think that's a big problem which causes some people to be caught off guard. I did next to no work for my GCSEs, skipped lessons all the time and got decent grades, then went to college thinking I could do the same. Bad idea [sad]
I got my results today: C for computing, and D for maths and physics. For all those who say A-Levels are easier, just shut up. They're making maths easier because of it's difficulty, and the majority of physics made no sense whatsoever to me. As someone previously said, they dont test your understanding, but what you've memorised, which is just stupid.
But in the end, i dont care, i got into my uni, mainly because of previous programming experience, but im in :D
But in the end, i dont care, i got into my uni, mainly because of previous programming experience, but im in :D
Ahh, there's nothing like hearing you've worked your arse off for two years, to hear exams have just got easier, and you actually have just wasted your time, and are still dumb as shit.
On the plus side I got into uni though, Reading for CompSci
I have a Gap Year first though, going to volunteer in Africa for some time.
Got A-computing, B-Chemistry, D-Maths
I found Computing the easiest, as all you had to do was memorise stuff and write it down again. Chemistry was fairly similiar, and also pretty fun. And Maths I suck at, no matter what. Maybe I can blame it on genetics.
And exams a decade ago or whatever, may not necessarily be harder, but just.. different? If you'd been taught the stuff, then it owuld make filling an exam in it much easier.. since you hadn't, why would you expect it to be easy to do?
On the plus side I got into uni though, Reading for CompSci
I have a Gap Year first though, going to volunteer in Africa for some time.
Got A-computing, B-Chemistry, D-Maths
I found Computing the easiest, as all you had to do was memorise stuff and write it down again. Chemistry was fairly similiar, and also pretty fun. And Maths I suck at, no matter what. Maybe I can blame it on genetics.
And exams a decade ago or whatever, may not necessarily be harder, but just.. different? If you'd been taught the stuff, then it owuld make filling an exam in it much easier.. since you hadn't, why would you expect it to be easy to do?
I agree with most people that exams certainly are getting easier. Preparing for my Advanced higher maths exams, looking at Past Papers from ~1998 it was clear that our exam was a lot easier.
However, having just sat my final school exams, I am rather pissed off at this attitude many people have that it is somehow the pupils' fault that these exams are easier. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but pupils don't normally set exams. Nor do pupils mark exams. Nor even, do pupils decide on cut-off grades. But despite all this it is clearly the pupils that are to blame for sliding exam standards.
Either way I'm not really bothered. It's over now and it's something for later generations to work out.
I do have an additional complaint with the Scottish System, which is that it is impossible to find out how well you did other than A/B/C. You can find out if you got an upper or lower grade, but you can't find out your marks.
However, having just sat my final school exams, I am rather pissed off at this attitude many people have that it is somehow the pupils' fault that these exams are easier. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but pupils don't normally set exams. Nor do pupils mark exams. Nor even, do pupils decide on cut-off grades. But despite all this it is clearly the pupils that are to blame for sliding exam standards.
Either way I'm not really bothered. It's over now and it's something for later generations to work out.
I do have an additional complaint with the Scottish System, which is that it is impossible to find out how well you did other than A/B/C. You can find out if you got an upper or lower grade, but you can't find out your marks.
Quote:However, having just sat my final school exams, I am rather pissed off at this attitude many people have that it is somehow the pupils' fault that these exams are easier. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but pupils don't normally set exams. Nor do pupils mark exams. Nor even, do pupils decide on cut-off grades. But despite all this it is clearly the pupils that are to blame for sliding exam standards.
in a sense the students are responsible.
many students take the easier subjects (just look at the current debate: Media Studies has overtaken Physics) because they want to get maximum grades with minimum effort, hence in order to attract students at all to the more important subjects (sciences, languages, ....) the standards have to be lowered to make the people without effort pass, otherwise the whole country would take philosophy, media studies, general studies and the like.
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