Why are "A" grades considered mediocre?
Discussion for GCSE students, including those studying for IGCSEs and O Levels.
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Aaah, but it wasn't down to intelligence so it's all good(Original post by TimmonaPortella)
I got a B in GCSE English lit by not bothering to read one of the books. And in German, by only learning the vocabulary up to the letter E. I got a C in history by not looking at all at one of the papers.
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Re: Why are "A" grades considered mediocre?Point still stands even with the vastly different word mediocre.(Original post by TimmonaPortella)
I do wish people would stop saying this. Oxbridge for the most part care far less about GCSEs than do, e.g., the top London uni's; they don't really need to care about GCSEs, since they have access to lots of information to which other uni's for the most part don't, such as admissions tests and interviews.
Buffoons*. And the word was "mediocre", not "average". Those words are quite different. -
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Re: Why are "A" grades considered mediocre?I'd like to disagree with you, but...(Original post by Maker)
A grades are really B grades because of the A* grade which is now really A grade. In the next few years, there will be A** grades and A* grades will be considered B grades and B grades C grades. -
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Re: Why are "A" grades considered mediocre?I knew this would happen They're no doubt about it, they have, I'm not saying from when I did them to when you did them, but over the last 25 years, with the exception of Maths, they have without a doubt, the jump from GCSE to A Levels has increasingly become wider. Ask any Teacher who's been at your school for at least a decade!(Original post by alexandraa)
I hate how everyone says they have become easier!
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Re: Why are "A" grades considered mediocre?spencer reid!!!(Original post by rock.and.rose)
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Re: Why are "A" grades considered mediocre?It is good that it has become easier because it makes A-levels inevitably harder as there is a greater jump between GCSE and A-levels. I guess this would help sort out who is University material and who isn't.Which is why it annoys me when people say A-levels are geting easier :O(Original post by ConnorB)
I knew this would happen They're no doubt about it, they have, I'm not saying from when I did them to when you did them, but over the last 25 years, with the exception of Maths, they have without a doubt, the jump from GCSE to A Levels has increasingly become wider. Ask any Teacher who's been at your school for at least a decade! -
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Re: Why are "A" grades considered mediocre?A levels, would have become easier if they hadn't of reformed them back in 2008 because of the information avaialble to us to use to revise for has exploded thanks to the internet!(Original post by cuckoo99)
It is good that it has become easier because it makes A-levels inevitably harder as there is a greater jump between GCSE and A-levels. I guess this would help sort out who is University material and who isn't.Which is why it annoys me when people say A-levels are geting easier :O
A-levels are now much more about applying knowledge rather than regurgitation. and more controversially Speed Writing aswell!
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Re: Why are "A" grades considered mediocre?As an A-Level student I can safely say that you haven't got any younger siblings doing their GCSEs, or at least haven't been helping them revise.(Original post by ConnorB)
As an A level student I can safely say that while GCSE's have become easier, a A grade is still no walk in the park. C is still mediocre
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Re: Why are "A" grades considered mediocre?I wasn't saying A/B grades aren't acceptable by medical schools(Original post by AspiringGenius)
Even A and B grades are acceptable for Medicine at GCSE level.
OP: A grades aren't mediocre. In my school, only 10 people got 10 A grades or more out of 250. Considering also that they allowed BTEC qualifications in this accumulation, A grades are still very respected where I live.
people who say As aren't good enough are incredibly blind, or blighted by pretentiousness. In fact I'd go so far as to say a B is still considered a very good grade, and C the standard. 50% of the population get 5C grades or more including Englisha nd Maths which eans 50% do not. I would say if you are exceeding that baseark then you are doing well.. I was talking about people's perceptions of A/B grades and that medical applicants in general regard B grades, at least, as 'mediocre' even though outside of medical applicants and TSR users B grades are viewed as very good.
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Re: Why are "A" grades considered mediocre?Oh how i wish i had reid's brain!(Original post by rock.and.rose)
He's someone who would get A* in everything. In fact they'd have to invent a new grade for him A**********.
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Re: Why are "A" grades considered mediocre?For everyone talking about Maths grade boundaries, for my last two exams (edexcel) the grade boundaries were 90% for an A* (54/60), and 86% (52/50). So, based on that, I wouldn't say maths grade boundaries were too high, at least on edexcel.
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Re: Why are "A" grades considered mediocre?Because generally, boundaries are generous for people to get an A, so many people get an A. It's just not considered 'WOW' anymore!
It is generally the case on TSR, as so many people here aiming to study medicine at oxbridge, they need a solid set of A*s at GCSE, so they just see anything below a fail.
I will be lucky to get 3-4 A*s for GCSE, so imagine how I feel when I see everyone here predicted nearly all A*s. It makes me feel like a mediocre student, which I know really I am much higher than mediocre, but still!
A mediocre student is someone with a few As, big chunk of Bs, and one or two C's. -
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I think that's pretty high personally! I do edexcel but mine are out of 100?(Original post by jwf13)
For everyone talking about Maths grade boundaries, for my last two exams (edexcel) the grade boundaries were 90% for an A* (54/60), and 86% (52/50). So, based on that, I wouldn't say maths grade boundaries were too high, at least on edexcel.
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All the new specs must be out of 100 now(Original post by alexandraa)
I think that's pretty high personally! I do edexcel but mine are out of 100?
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Re: Why are "A" grades considered mediocre?People who say A grades are mediocre may be academically smart, but they evidently have no common sense. Who did they survey? 80% aspiring doctors/oxford students? Achieving an A grade is actually well above average for the real world, and most people actually leave with mostly C's. People need to consider that there are a lot of public schools where basically 75% of them are happy with C's.
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Re: Why are "A" grades considered mediocre?I don't think A grades are considered mediocre at all! My school is pretty decent(maybe) and it isn't common for people to get A's in subjects such as Maths, English, Science and History etc. In fact whenever we seem to get results for small contributions to our final grade, only several people do well. For example in my English class, only around 3 people got an A* for English Language, and only a couple got A's, the rest were B's and C's; and this is supposedly top set. I'm over the moon when I get A's! Of course I'd prefer to get A*'s, but only in subjects that really matter to me. A's are great in my opinion
As for people saying that GCSEs have become easier, I see what they mean, but only in terms of revision! People who did them before the internet was full of past papers and websites specifically designed for certain subjects and exam boards definitely had a disadvantage, but I doubt the papers and their content have changed much. Looking at past papers from around 8 years ago, I think they seem a lot easier, especially for subjects like Maths! -
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Same, in my English Top Set we have finished sitting it all (English Language) this year (Year 10). Only two of us got A*s overall, a few As and majority Bs and some less. I think this is one of the only GCSEs where an A* is credible(Original post by Lucy96)
I don't think A grades are considered mediocre at all! My school is pretty decent(maybe) and it isn't common for people to get A's in subjects such as Maths, English, Science and History etc. In fact whenever we seem to get results for small contributions to our final grade, only several people do well. For example in my English class, only around 3 people got an A* for English Language, and only a couple got A's, the rest were B's and C's; and this is supposedly top set. I'm over the moon when I get A's! Of course I'd prefer to get A*'s, but only in subjects that really matter to me. A's are great in my opinion
As for people saying that GCSEs have become easier, I see what they mean, but only in terms of revision! People who did them before the internet was full of past papers and websites specifically designed for certain subjects and exam boards definitely had a disadvantage, but I doubt the papers and their content have changed much. Looking at past papers from around 8 years ago, I think they seem a lot easier, especially for subjects like Maths!
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Re: Why are "A" grades considered mediocre?I do modular (edexcel b), and yeah, I always find the exams pretty hard as well, I guess everyone else just finds them easy(Original post by alexandraa)
I think that's pretty high personally! I do edexcel but mine are out of 100?
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Maybe you do Linear, I think they're out of 100
