why do people complain gcses are too easy
Why do people complain that gcses are too easy? I've seen several threads about it.
If they were easy, then the majority of 16 year olds would have at least 10. Instead the government target is 5Cs for everyone. I went to the best high school in my town but not even 50% of kids there got 5Cs!
I do agree that for the top students they are too easy and not a good way to prepare them for a-levels. But then if you're capable of all A*s why don't you go somewhere you can do IGCSEs if you think gcses are too easy for you?
And before you say anything i'm in my A2 year, so I have experienced gcses and A-levels.
If they were easy, then the majority of 16 year olds would have at least 10. Instead the government target is 5Cs for everyone. I went to the best high school in my town but not even 50% of kids there got 5Cs!
I do agree that for the top students they are too easy and not a good way to prepare them for a-levels. But then if you're capable of all A*s why don't you go somewhere you can do IGCSEs if you think gcses are too easy for you?
And before you say anything i'm in my A2 year, so I have experienced gcses and A-levels.
(edited 11 years ago)
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Because if you do A levels or the equivalent like the IB then its like having an epiphany after GCSEs... And not the good sort of epiphany.
Original post by tufc
The government set a low target so that they can boast about the extent to which 'government targets' have been smashed.
But they're not being smashed though, the only reason more people pass is due to grade inflation. Out of the three high schools round here, mine is/was the best, but I don't think it has ever had more than 50% of students getting 5Cs+.
Because they are?
A-levels too, for that matter.
Neg away - but once you've finished them you'll look back and realise you barely did any real work.
A-levels too, for that matter.
Neg away - but once you've finished them you'll look back and realise you barely did any real work.
Original post by Clare~Bear
Why do people complain that gcses are too easy? I've seen several threads about it.
If they were easy, then the majority of 16 year olds would have at least 10. Instead the government target is 5Cs for everyone. I went to the best high school in my town but not even 50% of kids there got 5Cs!
I do agree that for the top students they are too easy and not a good way to prepare them for a-levels. But then if you're capable of all A*s why don't you go somewhere you can do IGCSEs if you think gcses are too easy for you?
If they were easy, then the majority of 16 year olds would have at least 10. Instead the government target is 5Cs for everyone. I went to the best high school in my town but not even 50% of kids there got 5Cs!
I do agree that for the top students they are too easy and not a good way to prepare them for a-levels. But then if you're capable of all A*s why don't you go somewhere you can do IGCSEs if you think gcses are too easy for you?
Because, I hate to breakit to you, but GCSE's are easy. They really are.You're mostly examined on common sense and anybody with an ounce of logic can pass. You're babied through GCSE's by your teachers, and can literally only really fail them if you actually suffer from some form of setback such as dyslexia or actively work against your teachers and don't listen to them.
I left school with an A* in advanced science, 5 A's in sciennces, englishes, mathematics etc. and 4 B's in I.T. religous tudies etc. (B was the maximum grade available on my I.T. course). I never really revised for my GCSE's at and all you need to do to pass them is show up to lessons.
The fact is, if you go onto A levels with the same attitude you will never acheive, the sad fact is that I'm doing some of the hardest A Levels around (Physics, Futher Maths etc) and I barely have time to do anything anymore because I have to study 24/7. I f you do only the work that you teacher sets you at A level then you shall struggle to scrape a C.
Also, GCSE's are graded due to performance per year: every year 20% of students must leave with an A or above and over 40% must leave with a C or above in each examination. Unfortunately this means that 60% must got a D or below because GCSEs work on average per year, if you are part of a paticuarly stupid year, even stupid people will be able to acheive As. In A levels it is not like this, and A grades can be very rare in some subjects such as Physics Chemistry, and the Mathematics.
Sorry for the bad spelling and grammar; I just woke up and am not really focused on what I am typing
(edited 11 years ago)
It's not that GCSEs themselves are easy, but that there is no distinction between a low A* (which could be 60-70* in some subjects) and a high one. There is also the fact that grades are increasing year aftr year.
For a lot of students who are looking at the best Universities, it is easy to get As and A*s in almost every subject, for some of the students the same is true for A-levels as well (and possibly even their degree).
For a lot of students who are looking at the best Universities, it is easy to get As and A*s in almost every subject, for some of the students the same is true for A-levels as well (and possibly even their degree).
Original post by Aspiringlawstudent
Because they are?
A-levels too, for that matter.
Neg away - but once you've finished them you'll look back and realise you barely did any real work.
A-levels too, for that matter.
Neg away - but once you've finished them you'll look back and realise you barely did any real work.
And what A levels did you do? Oh Law.
There is large controversy over the "STEM" subjects (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics) because they are so much harder to achieve in. If you don't believe me look it up, there are a large amount of studies conducted by psychologists on the matter, as well as government inquiries.
I'm sitting my A levels right now and all I have done is constant studying: friends and family complain that they don't see me anymore because I always have some form of studying to do. I have no free time, and I haven't watched TV for a long time as I always have something to do.
Also, I attend an FE college, and lose 3 hours per day in travel, probably 4 when you factor in waiting for the bus etc, it is literally destroying what was a healthy and thriving social life.
The fact is GCSEs are easy. I'm not a particularly intelligent guy but some of the multiple choice questions for AQA Core Science were laughable i.e. why shouldn't a person get too many x-rays, A) He will glow in the dark. I even managed to do the first few pages of a mock foundation level French exam without any real knowledge of the language as the question were so very basic. The gap between them and A-level is wider than between A-level and degree in a lot of cases. GCSEs are practically useless at preparing you for Sixth form, hence why people see there grades drop by quite a bit.
Original post by Ollie113
And what A levels did you do? Oh Law.
There is large controversy over the "STEM" subjects (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics) because they are so much harder to achieve in. If you don't believe me look it up, there are a large amount of studies conducted by psychologists on the matter, as well as government inquiries.
I'm sitting my A levels right now and all I have done is constant studying: friends and family complain that they don't see me anymore because I always have some form of studying to do. I have no free time, and I haven't watched TV for a long time as I always have something to do.
Also, I attend an FE college, and lose 3 hours per day in travel, probably 4 when you factor in waiting for the bus etc, it is literally destroying what was a healthy and thriving social life.
There is large controversy over the "STEM" subjects (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics) because they are so much harder to achieve in. If you don't believe me look it up, there are a large amount of studies conducted by psychologists on the matter, as well as government inquiries.
I'm sitting my A levels right now and all I have done is constant studying: friends and family complain that they don't see me anymore because I always have some form of studying to do. I have no free time, and I haven't watched TV for a long time as I always have something to do.
Also, I attend an FE college, and lose 3 hours per day in travel, probably 4 when you factor in waiting for the bus etc, it is literally destroying what was a healthy and thriving social life.
I also sat those well-known 'soft' A-levels English Literature and History. Oh wait
And now I do that famous mickey mouse degree: law.I went to an FE college too.
GCSEs are pretty easy though tbh. A single run through past papers and mark schemes, with a basic knowledge of the content is decent preparation for a lot of people. Compare that to A-levels and well... good luck.
Although as you said the government targets are low it was doubtful that the target would be high and, as a previous poster said, GCSEs are graded on average - A-levels not so much, though I'm not very familiar with how exams are graded etc.
Although as you said the government targets are low it was doubtful that the target would be high and, as a previous poster said, GCSEs are graded on average - A-levels not so much, though I'm not very familiar with how exams are graded etc.
Original post by Clare~Bear
Why do people complain that gcses are too easy? I've seen several threads about it.
If they were easy, then the majority of 16 year olds would have at least 10. Instead the government target is 5Cs for everyone. I went to the best high school in my town but not even 50% of kids there got 5Cs!
I do agree that for the top students they are too easy and not a good way to prepare them for a-levels. But then if you're capable of all A*s why don't you go somewhere you can do IGCSEs if you think gcses are too easy for you?
And before you say anything i'm in my A2 year, so I have experienced gcses and A-levels.
If they were easy, then the majority of 16 year olds would have at least 10. Instead the government target is 5Cs for everyone. I went to the best high school in my town but not even 50% of kids there got 5Cs!
I do agree that for the top students they are too easy and not a good way to prepare them for a-levels. But then if you're capable of all A*s why don't you go somewhere you can do IGCSEs if you think gcses are too easy for you?
And before you say anything i'm in my A2 year, so I have experienced gcses and A-levels.
because, for example, part of my science GCSE was multiple choice, and easy multiple choice at that.
easy, when you think back.
Original post by Aspiringlawstudent
I also sat those well-known 'soft' A-levels English Literature and History. Oh wait And now I do that famous mickey mouse degree: law.
I went to an FE college too.
And now I do that famous mickey mouse degree: law.I went to an FE college too.
I'm not saying any of your courses are "soft", but you never sat STEM subjects,by many of the studies I have looked at, the realtive difficulty of the STEM subjects if far higher than those for English literatue and History (Classical History was up there with the lower STEM subjects, English literature and the other histories were in the low positives and high negatives for realitve difficulty, meaning that there difficulty is about the average "step up" for those leaving GCSE)
And obviously everybody is aware of how competitive law degrees are to get in to.
How hard you find A levels massively varies from subject to subject, and this is a large issue in further education.
Original post by Ollie113
And what A levels did you do? Oh Law.
There is large controversy over the "STEM" subjects (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics) because they are so much harder to achieve in. If you don't believe me look it up, there are a large amount of studies conducted by psychologists on the matter, as well as government inquiries.
I'm sitting my A levels right now and all I have done is constant studying: friends and family complain that they don't see me anymore because I always have some form of studying to do. I have no free time, and I haven't watched TV for a long time as I always have something to do.
Also, I attend an FE college, and lose 3 hours per day in travel, probably 4 when you factor in waiting for the bus etc, it is literally destroying what was a healthy and thriving social life.
There is large controversy over the "STEM" subjects (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics) because they are so much harder to achieve in. If you don't believe me look it up, there are a large amount of studies conducted by psychologists on the matter, as well as government inquiries.
I'm sitting my A levels right now and all I have done is constant studying: friends and family complain that they don't see me anymore because I always have some form of studying to do. I have no free time, and I haven't watched TV for a long time as I always have something to do.
Also, I attend an FE college, and lose 3 hours per day in travel, probably 4 when you factor in waiting for the bus etc, it is literally destroying what was a healthy and thriving social life.
'Enjoy university' is all I can say.
Your prior education (nation-wide exams in any case) will always seem easy in retrospect. That would be, hopefully, because what you're doing now is more difficult. Profound, isn't it.
Original post by TurboCretin
'Enjoy university' is all I can say.
Depends which uni
Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by TurboCretin
'Enjoy university' is all I can say.
Yeah, my nightmare is going to uni and not having time to live up the uni life, but as I'm wanting to do a physics masters I feel that this is quite likely to become a reality. However, I've looked at example timetables for my course, and the physics students spend about the same time in lesson and doing lab work as I do now, also hopefully I will not lose 3/4hours to travel, I'm applying to city based universities so travel should be reduced to about an hour a day max I reckon (winning back 2/3 precious hours of my life)
Original post by Clare~Bear
But they're not being smashed though, the only reason more people pass is due to grade inflation. Out of the three high schools round here, mine is/was the best, but I don't think it has ever had more than 50% of students getting 5Cs+.
Whether they're being 'smashed' or not, the lower the government sets the targets, the better they can say the schools are doing in relation to the targets.
Original post by Ollie113
Because, I hate to breakit to you, but GCSE's are easy. They really are.You're mostly examined on common sense and anybody with an ounce of logic can pass. You're babied through GCSE's by your teachers, and can literally only really fail them if you actually suffer from some form of setback such as dyslexia or actively work against your teachers and don't listen to them.
I left school with an A* in advanced science, 5 A's in sciennces, englishes, mathematics etc. and 4 B's in I.T. religous tudies etc. (B was the maximum grade available on my I.T. course). I never really revised for my GCSE's at and all you need to do to pass them is show up to lessons.
The fact is, if you go onto A levels with the same attitude you will never acheive, the sad fact is that I'm doing some of the hardest A Levels around (Physics, Futher Maths etc) and I barely have time to do anything anymore because I have to study 24/7. I f you do only the work that you teacher sets you at A level then you shall struggle to scrape a C.
Also, GCSE's are graded due to performance per year: every year 20% of students must leave with an A or above and over 40% must leave with a C or above in each examination. Unfortunately this means that 60% must got a D or below because GCSEs work on average per year, if you are part of a paticuarly stupid year, even stupid people will be able to acheive As. In A levels it is not like this, and A grades can be very rare in some subjects such as Physics Chemistry, and the Mathematics.
Sorry for the bad spelling and grammar; I just woke up and am not really focused on what I am typing
I left school with an A* in advanced science, 5 A's in sciennces, englishes, mathematics etc. and 4 B's in I.T. religous tudies etc. (B was the maximum grade available on my I.T. course). I never really revised for my GCSE's at and all you need to do to pass them is show up to lessons.
The fact is, if you go onto A levels with the same attitude you will never acheive, the sad fact is that I'm doing some of the hardest A Levels around (Physics, Futher Maths etc) and I barely have time to do anything anymore because I have to study 24/7. I f you do only the work that you teacher sets you at A level then you shall struggle to scrape a C.
Also, GCSE's are graded due to performance per year: every year 20% of students must leave with an A or above and over 40% must leave with a C or above in each examination. Unfortunately this means that 60% must got a D or below because GCSEs work on average per year, if you are part of a paticuarly stupid year, even stupid people will be able to acheive As. In A levels it is not like this, and A grades can be very rare in some subjects such as Physics Chemistry, and the Mathematics.
Sorry for the bad spelling and grammar; I just woke up and am not really focused on what I am typing
Yep, certainly too easy.
(edited 11 years ago)
Original post by Ollie113
Yeah, my nightmare is going to uni and not having time to live up the uni life, but as I'm wanting to do a physics masters I feel that this is quite likely to become a reality. However, I've looked at example timetables for my course, and the physics students spend about the same time in lesson and doing lab work as I do now, also hopefully I will not lose 3/4hours to travel, I'm applying to city based universities so travel should be reduced to about an hour a day max I reckon (winning back 2/3 precious hours of my life)
Surely your nightmare should be failing?
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