Why do people get bad grades at GCSE/A level?

Nope, they can't.
The reality is that most people are stupid. Why do you think the Sun newspaper is the best selling newspaper, and the Daily Mail the most visited news website?

The existence of higher and foundation papers are a disgraceful example of this streaming of expectations. It's really not fair that people should be told they are incapable of achieving a B or an A grade, so they must sit an exam where such grades cannot even be obtained.

You see, I think this is what is wrong with society and its attitudes towards intelligence. This assumption that people are, and always will be, cognitively 'slow', that there's no point working hard at school because of that 'fact', creates a self-fulfilling prophecy.

That's why it frustrates me that people are attacking people who agree with the OP argument by claiming that "not everyone is intelligent." Exams are not easy, getting these A*/A grades is not easy for the majority of those who do so; it is easy to become frustrated with that one person in your class that gets straight As without much apparent effort, but considering only them is discounting the others who have worked really hard. I do not consider myself to be spectacularly 'bright', I simply count myself lucky that I haven't been brought round to think that that understanding will prevent me from achieving - it just means that I have to work a little harder than some, and that's not the end of the world.

The vast majority of people become ensnared by other vices such as relationships, jobs and such and so 'revising' becomes the least of their priorities. Only those people who are truly devoted succeed or those people who's life is quite empty, for whatever reason, such that revision becomes the only reason for their existence.

Here's a controversial thread concept that just popped into my head. I'm not sure I agree with it myself, but, admittedly, the thought has arisen in my mind on a couple of occasions in the past. I hope the TSR community will be split on this.

Opening argument:

I can understand when people can't quite make the A/A* grade because of a silly mistake or two during an exam, and slip to a B/A because of it. However, what I can't understand is how people can be content with, or even proclaim they "aspire to reach" a C grade, as if that's some sort of huge achievement.

What I have found with my A levels and GCSEs is that to score an A or above requires a decent amount of effort (more so in some subjects than others), but it is not anything harder than would be expected on a regular basis during one's working life. Why, then, do a good proportion of people simply excuse themselves by claiming they're "just not that clever" and settle for mediocre grades by putting minimal amounts of effort in?

"But some people want to have a life!" I suppose this would be the immediate counter. I'm not arguing that everyone should be aiming for 95+ UMS and practicing to ace their Oxbridge interview as soon as they hit secondary school. All I'm saying is that the vast majority of people are capable of scoring in range of AAA-ABB at A level (one can easily lead a healthy social life with these aspirations) the willingness is simply not there, however. That is what I find so alien.

So yeah, who would agree with that? Who would disagree?

Blaming teachers for poor GCSE performance is the saddest cop out argument you'll ever hear. A CGP textbook which is about 50 pages long is more than enough to get an A or A*, and I'm sure you don't need a teacher to read and memorise a CGP book

-Health problems
-Family problems
-Lack of confidence
-Crippling exam anxiety
-Bullying
-Countless other things that can affect how someone studies.

I know a lot of people at school who worked just as hard as I did for exams, if not harder and got lower grades than me, I liked school and for the most part I liked studying and stuff made sense to me. I wasn't one of the cool kids and doing well at school was pretty much what I based my self-worth on, which isn't healthy, but it was basically my reason for studying If you're constantly being told you're 'not that academic' it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, you don't believe you're capable of getting higher grades so you don't engage as much.

Edit: Relating to something another poster said, when I say health problems I'm including mental health problems. That stuff can totally knock you out.

I took twelve GCSE's, and came out with one B, seven C's and four D's. I'm proud of that, seeing as I had only just (literally a few weeks before the exams), found out I was dyslexic. Not massivly, but enough for it to have impacted. I don't understand things all that well, and become easily frustrated when I don't get them. I'm also terrible at coursework.

Implying intelligence has nothing to do with nature or nurture, merely needs a happy spin on it? Pahahaha! This has made my morning!

omg i agree so much with this, i think it should be turned into just one paper

Sorry if I came across stand-offish by ranting, had to get it off my chest

It means "quoted for truth"

ha

you found out you were dyslexic, aptly, a few weeks before your exams, so you use that as a whitewash excuse for your performance.