Anyone else have 0 faith in the exam system?

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Uni was the same for me, just more rote learning, past paper and problem sheet crunching, hours of revision and playing the 'game' with regards to marks chasing, exam technique, key words, jumping hoops, etc. At Imperial I'd typically have over a dozen exams in the summer, plus all the various lab, courseworks, etc. throughout the year.

Now looking back; uni and a-levels were a complete waste of time, it's just going through a system. I liked GCSE due to the variety of subjects and not past paper whoring and all that malarky. It felt more natural. I work as a Maths and Physics tutor and it feels more natural.

Uni's even more of a farce, because people are paying thousands and thousands to effectively teach themselves AND sit a boatload of exams.

Oh dear. :/

Well I preferred GCSEs. Of course you had exams and coursework for those but I do remember feeling like I was learning somehow.

Reply 221

Physics Enemy

Original post by Dee Leigh

Oh dear. :/

Well I preferred GCSEs. Of course you had exams and coursework for those but I do remember feeling like I was learning somehow.

Yes, same. I think it's because:

1) There isn't the whole uni scram
2) There's lots of subjects and content, so a breadth of study
3) Aided by point no. 2, there wasn't all the 'game playing', since students don't tend to do that for GCSE. It's hard to do as it's less 'narrow' than A-Level.

For ME, the system only gets worse as one keeps on going.

Reply 222

.snowflake.

Original post by hannahwhelan

In AQA A2 English lit you aren't allowed your books in the exam. This is for no good reason. They are literally testing your ability to memorise quotes. Any academic who writes an essay on a piece of literature will have the book to hand so that they can quote it directly.

It's just complete idiocy which proves nothing.

The same occurs in the AQA A2 German exam, if you do your essay on the literature you've studied.

Reply 223

rac1

just wanted to re-post this sorry

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/16672

Reply 224

insomniacramblings

My history teacher had a chat the other day with a former student of hers, she's currently studying History at university. She's become an exam marker. To add to that, she herself has never studied the units she'll be marking.

This system fails on so many levels.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 225

imamarouna

How true are all this, just done a Law exam and no one in the class came out any higher than a C while everyone was getting A's and B's last year in AS and most annoying thing is that i confidently know that I wrote everything that was on the market scheme.

THE EXAM BOARD DOESNT EVEN KNOW THEY PLAYING WITH OUR LIFES WHICH ANNOYS ME

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 226

emanuela15

You have no idea how much the exam systems have screwed me over. :mad:

To start with, I can't get higher than a B in the Chinese AS exam( that I'm forced to take by my school alongside the Pre U) because Edexcel marks me on the same level with native Chinese speakers.

Secondly, because of the new pooling system, I can't take a mixture of Pre U and A levels. Instead, I'm being made to do 3 A levels alongside a Pre U!! Even though i will probably fail the 3rd A level!!

And to finish it all off, neither my school nor the exam boards seem to give a ****.

*rant over*
:smile:

Reply 227

insomniacramblings

Original post by emanuela15

You have no idea how much the exam systems have screwed me over. :mad:

Wouldn't it be easier to do your A-levels as an independent candidate, if they're not compatible with Pre U?

Reply 228

emanuela15

It would be easier, but according to my school, it's the government that's to blame for the pooling. Apparently they did not foresee people mixing Pre U and A level qualifications :frown:

I'm currently trying to see if I can find a substitute for edexcel AS Chinese, no luck so far :'(

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 229

Todd

Original post by Hellz_Bellz!

My experience is that only people who get bad grades have no faith in the exam system :erm:

Do your work and you'll get the grades. I don't see the problem.

Oops...controversial.

Sorry, but that's such a closeminded view!
I understand where you're coming form - trust me, I know no end of people who do no work then moan about their poor results - but I also know several people who are really close to me who work their fingers to the bone and still get ****ed by the exam system. My boyfriend just got the results of his resits, for which he worked sometimes about 12 hours a day week in, week out for months with an excellent tutor, only to do poorly again. He knows allt he stuff - he's doing degree-level engineering (the degree he wants to take) in his own home, currently building a wind turbine form scratch, and yet because he can't play the exam system right he's still getting rubbish results. It absolutely boils my blood, I apologse for the rant but it just demonstrates how ****ty the exam system is in this country, it's not even an uncommon occurence I knwo so many intelligent people who have never got the results they deserve.