Results!

So school-leavers in England are working harder, but the lazy Scots are resting on their laurels? I don't think so!

Three A-grades at 'A' level used to be an exceptional result in the early 1980s; now it's commonplace.

We are now putting unsuitable people through University. Not fair on them, and a huge waste of resources when they drop out.

 

Yes some unsuitable people are going to university, but I think certain universities need to put up their entry requirements but that would be pointless becuase people wouldn't go. So you get poor courses which require CD grades for entry its supply and demand, people can still do well though these type of courses depend on the student more than anything.

Drop outs are a huge problem but its not always down to grades its far more complex than that. 25 people on my course failed to graduate this summer as they cheated on this assignment, they used a website to produce all their entropy calculations for them and the tutor spotted it instantly as there was no calculations just answers (stupid idiots) its fair to say that most of them probably didn't have great A levels.

The 50% target for Higher Education is for mainly for HNDs and Foundation Degrees increase in first degree places has been capped until 2012 (or 2010?). Also the government now realise that target will never be met.

Its also still less than places like Germany and Canada.

I do accept one of the reasons for increasing grades is the fact some people are taking easier exams now. I am not saying Media Studies is easy but I don't believe its as hard as Physics

I know things are not perfect but its not half as bad as the media like to make out.

 

not fair to say poor A level results cause a waste of resources and a drop out at university.

I got 1 grade D and two unclassifieds at A level !

I then did a B-tech course (distinction), and then did an honours degree (2:2). Could have had a 2:1 if I'd been a bit more commited, but thats always the story.

Anyway, stop generalising James. tut tut!

 

Thats one of the things degrees test though commitment I could have got a 1st (I missed out by 2%) if I didn't go clubbing every weekend but or post as much on forums but I did and it was my own fualt so I can't really use it an excuse). I got 270 UCAS points (requirements were 220) and got one of the better grades. There was a colleration betwee degree classifications and results but there is always people who do badly at A levels who will go onto get brilliant degrees.

The people who got the best grades were the mature students who did HNDs or access courses.

 

universities should set serperate entry tests.

 

Maybe but the vast majority of universities A levels are enough, they don't need to go into the extra expense of doing this.

I think you can tell a persons abilities from a series of exams over two years then a one test.

 

I feel rather sorry for A level students really*, at the end of the day all they can do is sit the papers put in front of them....and the comments about dumbing down do belittle what they worked hard for (whether they worked as hard as previous generations is not something they themselves can tell, all they know is they worked for their exams and then someone is talking down their achievements).

Grade inflation over a fairly short amount of time should in theory occur anyway, as teachers become more familiar with the content of the courses that they're teaching (they become accustomed to teaching methods that work and those that don't, become more familiar with teaching materials such as textbooks, and past papers become available so working out what questions are on the paper should be easier).

Looking more long term, one would hope that as government funding increases, standards would rise accordingly...remember education, education, education?

In truth I'm not sure though that a 23 year sustained rise in achievement can be attributed to either of these reasons though. It does no justice at all to hard working students though, if standards are being lowered - theres the crazy cases where students with 5 A grades at A2 can miss out on a place at a good university because demand is so high, yet theres little to separate them from others who got places.

*I only did my A levels last year but the results to me were less important as my place at university wasn't riding on them (I got a scholarship/merit award after sitting 2 2 hour exams set by Aberystwyth uni, just as well as my A levels were below what I needed otherwise), so all this criticism of the A level system and the university application system based around them kind of passed me by without ever getting me wound up or upset in the way some did. I still felt sorry for those who ended up waiting for their results with much of their future riding on them being good, whilst all the media talked about was standards being lowered and how the results were becoming meaningless - not very nice to hear after 2 years of hard work, whether its true or not.

 

I can tell you for a fact that the sophistication of the material on many (if not all) of the Cambridge first-year courses has been steadily pushed back over the last decade or two to accommodate the decline in knowledge of students coming out of their A-levels - certainly in several science subjects there are questions on the Cambridge first-year exam papers from about the late '80s which are very similar to questions on today's second-year papers, and the music faculty has had to make formerly core subjects like fugue optional simply because many students arrive not knowing any harmony or counterpoint.

 

Yes, but the media are really evil with this issue! They've gone & reported the facts.

 

They haven't though thats the problem, they have only reported part of the facts in order to get a story. They haven't reported the full and real picture.

Its like what they do with crime figures they will write a story on how muggings have increased by 60% in the last year or somthing but neglet to mention that all other crime is down by 40%.

 

Yes but an exam which any fool can pass is valueless. The Universities are alive to that. I am an honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of Glasgow, btw.

 

Yes exactly thats why you can't get into many universities with E's and if you can the course probably isn't worth much.

And remember the real fools are people who can't pass the exams to get onto A2 into the first place, i.e GCSEs and AS exams. You have to get decent grades in both those exams to be allowed to progress to A2, so only better students sit the A2's exams in the first place.

This differs from the old system where not so bright students were not filtered out before the final exams.

 

Not-so-bright students never got A grades, but now they do.

 

Well none of the not so bright students at my college even passed. I got by far the highest grade at AB plus my crappy AS in Business Studies.

A lot of people are still getting Ds and Es, my cousin who I would not call thick he is quite clever and the brightest in his imediate family has just CCC.

 

it's much easier to get into Uni now I think - most of the ones up north are expanding at an alarming rate...they should ahve some kind of means test as too many people are passing a-levels.

 

Hi,

well done to Tenson and others for pasing their exams. The advice of other about travelling is a good one.

On to the other points.

I do think they are easier.

There are a number of points to back this up. Here are some

1) More people passing. Higher pass rate. 96.2%. Could point to easier exams.

2) More people getting high grades. 22.8%. Again could point to easier exams.

3) Move to modular courses. The marks are spread over wider period and many areas. Not just an exam at the end of the two year course.

4) pupils taking easier options. There has been a rise in certian 'easier' A levels such as Media Studies and a reduction of taking 'harder' subjects such as Physics.

5) Big changes in the depth of some topics taught to make them easier.

6) Industry and commerce not being impressed with the standard of pupils overall. They are finding it harder to indentify the best students. They find pupils are lacking in basic skills.

7) Universities are finding it harder to indentify the best students as many have high grades. Some have resorted to extra entrance tests and exams.

8) Universities have found that the knowledge of some students is poor. This has resulted in changes in first year undergrad programmes or extra courses to get puplis up to speed.

No but a marathon is the same distance. A Levels have changed, from the syllabus and content and how they are examined and marked. Add to this that some A levels are easier than others. There has been more variation in how A levels have changed.

Black and white stats can be misleading, but stats do tell interesting stories. Looking at last years results, nearly 50% of passes were grade A or B. Two thirds of the passes were C or above. Only 9.5% of exams produced an E with 4 % giving a U.

The trend has been rising over the years. I know that the number of U grades has fallen and the number of A grades has risen. I do have a feeling the number of D & E grades has fallen.

Does this mean that exams are easier or pupils are alot brighter?

http://www.bstubbs.co.uk/a-lev.htm

I think the figure for 3 or more grade A at A level is nearer 10%. It was 7.9% in 2002 according to Cambridge University.

http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/news/press/dpp/2004031201

SCIDB

 

What was it in, say, 1980?

 

Not according to my dads old UCLAN (or what ever it was called) offers slip. CCB is all Camrbridge wanted from my dad in 1970.

As I said above fonding for first degrees have been capped until 2010 or 2012 so any expansion is in the HND and foundation degree sector.