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Why have they made gcse maths harder

I don't understand, why the had to make gcse maths harder. I was happy with the old (a*-g) grades, because I can easily get an A*s, now I'm struggling to even get a level 7(A grade)
Two words:

Selection pressure.
Original post by theBranicAc
I don't understand, why the had to make gcse maths harder. I was happy with the old (a*-g) grades, because I can easily get an A*s, now I'm struggling to even get a level 7(A grade)


I think it is good but I guess I'm not the one sitting these new harder maths GCSE so can't say much aha. It did need to be more challenging imo. If you start learning stuff early on then you should have absolutely no problem. The challenging questions shouuld inspire you to work harder, think more and hopefullly do better. It may have a positive impact?

.I think the numbers is absolutely stupid.
(edited 7 years ago)
Reply 3
Original post by mercuryman
Two words:

Selection pressure.


what do you mean?
Reply 4
Original post by Kryptonian
I think it is good but I guess I'm not the one sitting these new harder maths GCSE so can't say much aha. It did need to be more challenging imo. If you start learning stuff early on then you should have absolutely no problem. The challenging questions shouuld inspire you to work harder, think more and hopefullly do better.

I think the numbers is absolutely stupid.


Yeah your right, i need to put my head down and try my best, so that I can improve, instead of complaining about the difficulty
Reply 5
Original post by theBranicAc
Yeah your right, i need to put my head down and try my best, so that I can improve, instead of complaining about the difficulty


There's that, but also people who don't deal at all that well with pressure (see: me) are now freaking out over how hard they've made them. And trust me, I put effort in.
Reply 6
Because A-level maths is getting harder so if they kept gcse maths as it was then it wouldn't prepare you for A-level
Original post by theBranicAc
what do you mean?


People are getting better at GCSEs, they want to make it harder so that less people pass.

Otherwise your exam papers would just be copy and pasted questions from past papers. They need to introduce new and harder content every 7 or so years.
Original post by theBranicAc
Yeah your right, i need to put my head down and try my best, so that I can improve, instead of complaining about the difficulty


What year are you in?
Reply 9
Because GCSE's are easy.
Original post by Kryptonian
What year are you in?


I'm in year 10, I have a year to improve
Reply 11
I will be sitting the new Maths GCSE next year although I have already sat this years paper. The work needed for an 8 or 9 (A* equivalent) is a lot more compared to this year (and before that). Not only that, we will not have any past paper resources (apart from specification papers) to revise from. Even the Maths Department at my school is unsure of what to do. Maybe we should expect 7 or 8's for the new GCSE. :frown:
Original post by BlueSkye
There's that, but also people who don't deal at all that well with pressure (see: me) are now freaking out over how hard they've made them. And trust me, I put effort in.


I'm not really freaking out tbh, when I first head about the change I kinda shrugged it off, but now I'm more serious about it. I don't really find to much pressure, more as an exciting challenge.
Original post by theBranicAc
I'm in year 10, I have a year to improve


Plenty of time but don't be lazy. Time will fly and you are likely to have not done no where near as much as you thought you would which is why a plan is crucial. Stay consistent.
Original post by theBranicAc
I was happy with the old (a*-g) grades, because I can easily get an A*s


People were complaining for years, maybe decades, that GCSE maths was far too easy. These changes mean the more talented students actually have to work to get their grades, and help to distinguish better between the best students.
Original post by theBranicAc
I don't understand, why the had to make gcse maths harder. I was happy with the old (a*-g) grades, because I can easily get an A*s, now I'm struggling to even get a level 7(A grade)


Stem and leaf thats why.
Original post by theBranicAc
I'm not really freaking out tbh, when I first head about the change I kinda shrugged it off, but now I'm more serious about it. I don't really find to much pressure, more as an exciting challenge.


Sounds nice to be honest, someone literally ran out of our hall halfway through the maths one and the only thing stopping me was the fact I may gain a few more measly marks if I stayed. I have a massive problem with expectation/results and the new spec really isn't helping
They're too easy at the moment, there are too many people getting "easy A*'s"
IIRC i read something that said that the GCSEs were made harder not only because too many people are getting top grades, but also because the country wants to compete with 'top' countries like Singapore and Finland.
You answered your own question. You said it was easy to get A*s. That is not how it should be. Only the top candidates should get A*s to separate them from A grade candidates to demonstrate their high potential/ability.

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