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Top GCSE grades for only top pupils - what do you think?

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Reply 80
Well..It'll be a good thing for students who are going to get enough time to adjust to the new system, which might in turn mean that they'll find the jump from KS4 to KS5 less intimidating and scary!
However, I'm going to be sitting my GCSE's this summer and people like me, and people who have already sat their GCSE's are going to be looking less academically clever or brainy (or whatever you want to call it) compared to the people who will be getting 8/9 in the new qualifications..even if we get A's and A*'s..They'll be more likely to be accepted into good colleges, universities etc.
Kind of unfair.
Reply 81
Original post by Sloppy Jumpers
The biggest announcement of the day so far is the planned grading system for the new GCSEs. (Have a look here: http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/education-26854297).

Scrapping the A*-E system, grades will now be ranked by numbers - with 9 being the highest grade, and 1 being the lowest. For the first time, the English system will be in line with the international systems.

But, the top grade (A*/9) will now only be available to a precious few - 20,000 students! This has never happened before in England!

What do you think about these measures? Is it fair that only a few students will be able to get the top grade? Will the new GCSEs be better or worse than the current GCSEs?

Want to hear your thoughts!

Sloppy J. :smile:


With GCSE's (in my experience) they teach you to pass the test. Plus this new system is arguably fairer in that the top grade will actually mean something.
Original post by vickie89uk
I want to be a doctor as well and I was told GCSE are not important you can make up for it at college that was the standard at my school needless to say they have been closed down now because the school was useless

Thankfully a university will still consider me due to very high profile extenuating circumstances and public criminal case that happened as I was at school I'm lucky in thag sense but many don't accept resits I have cps letters and doctor letter etc to back me up many dont have this.

I feel for anyone who goes through this because in the end I stopped taking a pen because it was so mad that the table would be flipped before your pen touches the table crazy is all I can sun my school as crazy and dysfunctional


Bloody hell - your class made your teacher cry? See, this is what's wrong with schools, students should be begging at the knees of teachers to help them get the best grades, rather than traumatising them. You are unlucky enough to get caught in the crossfire - when your class is a bunch of thugs like you seem to have had, which teacher is going to put in the effort to teach them as best as she could?

My view is pretty simple, make the exam really ****ing hard, and make the boundaries tough, make it so that the students have no choice but to work hard, or to end up at McDonald's.

And also, you have the internet nowadays. You can go online to your exam board, google the syllabus and just look up anything you don't understand. Sure, some people like me are privileged and have amazing teachers, but for example, my parents didn't, they had to work their arses off to get into a position to pay for a top education for me.

I am so grateful that it would feel wrong for me to not work hard. And then I hear about your class making your teacher cry and I'm just like...
I am doing my gcses this year and we still have the grade system at the moment. When we got our maths gcse results last year, I was pleased with my A* but it became less so when I found out that practically the whole year got A*s. Getting all A*s or mostly A*s used to be a massive deal and even an A was seen as really pretty good but now more and more people get the top grades so it feels like they are not that great. The boundaries are not as high as I expected them to be; our topic tests have higher grade boundaries than GCSEs sometimes. It also feels like teachers try o 'positively reinforce' students by giving them higher grades than an examiner would give, hoping students will work more and therefore do better. This happened with English Language mock controlled assessments and then the real controlled assessments so the whole year went down by a grade pretty much. I think the grade system should be fair but not too lenient because it feels like the boundaries have been lowered out of sympathy or guilt for those who cannot get the grades they need.
Reply 84
Original post by PythianLegume
So you want the top grades to only go to the top pupils? :tongue:


Yes? Shouldn't it be this way..Even though it'll be a lot harder; at least it will only be top students, who are motivated and hardworking, that get the top end grades.
:fyi:
Reply 85
I have just started my GCSEs and I will take my history exam this year. Fortunately I will escape the new system but as I my school we start doing GCSE courses at different times in different subjects the year below me will have a mixture of letter and number grades. Stupid if you ask me. To be honest I don't see the problem with making GCSEs harder and based on what I have read about what each number will be equivalent to as a grade (A*-U) I understand that actually a level 8 will also be approximately equivalent to an A* so having less people get a grade 9 than the number that currently get an A* makes sense. However, I don't understand, is there a grade that will be equivalent to a U?

Anyway despite of all this. I don't see that we should change the grades given to numbers. It would be better an more understandable for all if they kept the letters system and just changed the marking and number of people who achieve each grade where necessary
Reply 86
However, I'm going to be sitting my GCSE's this summer and people like me, and people who have already sat their GCSE's are going to be looking less academically clever or brainy (or whatever you want to call it) compared to the people who will be getting 8/9 in the new qualifications..even if we get A's and A*'s..They'll be more likely to be accepted into good colleges, universities etc.
Kind of unfair.

I completely agree though I wouldn't want to be one of the guinea pig years of the new system eiter
Original post by Sloppy Jumpers
The biggest announcement of the day so far is the planned grading system for the new GCSEs. (Have a look here: http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/education-26854297).

Scrapping the A*-E system, grades will now be ranked by numbers - with 9 being the highest grade, and 1 being the lowest. For the first time, the English system will be in line with the international systems.

But, the top grade (A*/9) will now only be available to a precious few - 20,000 students! This has never happened before in England!

What do you think about these measures? Is it fair that only a few students will be able to get the top grade? Will the new GCSEs be better or worse than the current GCSEs?

Want to hear your thoughts!

Sloppy J. :smile:


Gove is obsessed with making things tougher for students. He seems to assume that tougher examinations will produce better students which is nonsensical. The evidence from PISA does not support the toughening of exams.
And also, you have the internet nowadays. You can go online to your exam board, google the syllabus and just look up anything you don't understand. Sure, some people like me are privileged and have amazing teachers, but for example, my parents didn't, they had to work their arses off to get into a position to pay for a top education for me.


Wow, this level of complete ignorance baffles me. I worked stupendously hard during my GCSEs, and ended up in the top 1% in my school grade wise. Our resources were stretched, our teaching was poor, everybody was encouraged up to the point at which they could score a C grade, and then pushed aside to help those struggling. I was really happy with my GCSEs when I first got them, but then I realised that, in comparison to a lot of individuals from better funded, more selective schools, my set of grades weren't that special at all. Now that I'm at highly ranked college in a wealthier area, I get a much greater deal of one to one support, I have teachers that have genuine enthusiasm for their subjects... And I think to myself that, had I been educated in this environment during my GCSEs, I probably would have been instructed how to channel my efforts more productively during revision, I would have got a greater deal of feedback on the work I completed outside of class... the list goes on. The reality of the situation is this: working hard can get you to brilliant places (like your parents, for instance), but for the vast majority of people a little additional support makes this additional effort a far more effective and rewarding pursuit.

So the solution isn't to impose a situation in which everyone has to work as hard as South Korean kids in order to not end up on the scrapheap, the solution is to equalise the shocking disparities existent within our educational system, then, when people are on an equal footing, think about competition.
Reply 89
I think it is fair, because they're preparing them right from the start, not changing the system halfway through their GCSEs. To be honest, I'd have rather done those GCSEs, because even a 7 or 8 on those exams will be regarded as pretty high. I think it's a genuine shame that many people who sit GCSEs and get A*s are academically backward compared to international standards- doing the tougher GCSEs means that you will work harder to get the grades that are more difficult to achieve.

However, I do wish on the other hand, that the government had not changed the system for us part-way through the GCSE course (in the case of science particularly) from modular to linear. Although this prepares us better, it is unfair because we had already started the course. Changes should take place at least a year or two before a student starts a GCSE course, to ensure that they are prepared for the rigours of it.
Original post by AKaur98
Well..It'll be a good thing for students who are going to get enough time to adjust to the new system, which might in turn mean that they'll find the jump from KS4 to KS5 less intimidating and scary!
However, I'm going to be sitting my GCSE's this summer and people like me, and people who have already sat their GCSE's are going to be looking less academically clever or brainy (or whatever you want to call it) compared to the people who will be getting 8/9 in the new qualifications..even if we get A's and A*'s..They'll be more likely to be accepted into good colleges, universities etc.
Kind of unfair.


Except you won't be competing against these pupils for college and university places - you'll be competing against students your own age who've got Grades A*-E/U


Original post by AKaur98
Yes? Shouldn't it be this way..Even though it'll be a lot harder; at least it will only be top students, who are motivated and hardworking, that get the top end grades.
:fyi:


I wasn't suggesting that it shouldn't be this way. I was picking up on the fact that the poster I quoted had questioned the wording of 'top grades only for top pupils'.
They did not just make her cry she had a nervous breakdown in class and was taken to hospital where she ended up very depressed and suicidal I remember sending her some grapes saying 5 a day and all I don't think I really understood how bad depression was until I was struck with it they were awful she got punch kicked spat out I remember a guy called andy throwing a chair at her head and I was physically terrified to go to school it was beyond a joke.

They can't teach people who don't want teaching but those of us that want to thrive and do well seem to get affected too and it's really unfair I'm lucky I get a second shot due to unforeseen circumstances at school not many people get that chance and I'm more grateful than ever.

I'm so glad you parents taught you to appreciate your education I wish you all the luck in the world and your education work hard play hard and reap the rewards
Original post by youcanttrackthis
Bloody hell - your class made your teacher cry? See, this is what's wrong with schools, students should be begging at the knees of teachers to help them get the best grades, rather than traumatising them. You are unlucky enough to get caught in the crossfire - when your class is a bunch of thugs like you seem to have had, which teacher is going to put in the effort to teach them as best as she could?

My view is pretty simple, make the exam really ****ing hard, and make the boundaries tough, make it so that the students have no choice but to work hard, or to end up at McDonald's.

And also, you have the internet nowadays. You can go online to your exam board, google the syllabus and just look up anything you don't understand. Sure, some people like me are privileged and have amazing teachers, but for example, my parents didn't, they had to work their arses off to get into a position to pay for a top education for me.

I am so grateful that it would feel wrong for me to not work hard. And then I hear about your class making your teacher cry and I'm just like...
it will make it easier to differentiate top candidates
Reply 93
Original post by yl95
Happens when Cambridge decides to be mean and some Imperial ChemEng offers have been known to be given out as 3A* or 3A* 1A...or even very rarely 4A*s. CBA to find the link but it has happened, especially with Cam.
If it isn't on their requirements page, I would imagine it is highly unfair to spring this upon someone.
Reply 94
Original post by PythianLegume
It's not a standard offer, but it has been known to happen.

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/cambridge_applicants_stalking_page_2013
After a quick skim through, I can't seem to find any A*A*A* offers. Can you point to any for me please?
Original post by Namige
If it isn't on their requirements page, I would imagine it is highly unfair to spring this upon someone.


It isn't on their requirements page but it happens. I've seen it on the Winter Pool thread and I have heard of someone getting a 4A* offer for PhysNatSci because the Admissions Tutor didn't know whether he wanted the candidate or not - he did get the grades in the end, though.
Original post by Namige
After a quick skim through, I can't seem to find any A*A*A* offers. Can you point to any for me please?


VSEPR - 3A*s for NatSci at Trinity.
Original post by Namige
If it isn't on their requirements page, I would imagine it is highly unfair to spring this upon someone.


Universities usually state their standard offer which is what most successful applicants are given, however they can give any applicant any offer from EE to A*A*A*.
Reply 98
Imperial are giving out A*A*A offers for sciences aswell....My friend got one for Physics
Original post by AhmedDavid
Imperial are giving out A*A*A offers for sciences aswell....My friend got one for Physics


Only for Physics for Pure Sciences, as mentioned above. Chemistry is mostly AAA, with A*AA for exceptions and I think Biology is either AAA or A*AA.

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