Anybody else think A levels are too easy?

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Yet you started this thread? http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2195448 Haha, you find them easy? Yeah right. :rolleyes:

Decent troll I guess since most people here believed you, 7/10

That work didn't concern my A levels. The A levels are easy. I just had a lot of other responsibilities at the time that were external to my studies.

So therefore that thread is entirely unrelated to this thread.

Feel free to try and ruin the validity of this thread some other way.

Reply 61

midnightice

Original post by awilson008

Superiority complex? Really?

I find it ridiculous that people like you make assumptions about my character through a post I made on the student room, which mind you was a genuine concern. Whether or not you think I believe I'm superior is simply a fragment of your own imagination.

People like you can't handle when someone (who seemingly has some 'advantage') wants to better and push themselves even farther.

That's what university is for? I don't think you're very intelligent if you can't comprehend the difficulty consensus A-levels must have for EVERYONE in the country - not just you. Even if they made them harder, there will still be people finding them 'easy'. There has to be a limit.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 62

Tbx

Original post by Loiks94

This is probably the only time I'd advise you to start taking notes on only the important bits that you need to know, the textbooks tend to go into way more detail than needed and thus the revision guides are pretty amazing as they only include the things that you need to know and nothing more.

Good luck haha.

Yeah no CGP books for this :frown:

, thanks

Reply 63

Sufistic

I got 4 A's in AS - they were bloody hard to get!

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 64

F1's Finest

Original post by GeneralOJB

Find me one A level maths paper with an emphasis on quantitative problem solving.

I thought this thread referred to A-levels in general and not specifically maths.

But for Maths though, there's no real problem solving, I will agree with you on that.

It's more about following a set of rules really lol.

Reply 65

Gkt1378312870

Original post by midnightice

That's what university is for? I don't think you're very intelligent if can't comprehend the difficulty consensus A-levels must have for EVERYONE in the country - not just you. Even if they made them harder, there will still be people finding them 'easy'. There has to be a limit.

Well I look forward to university then!

I do comprehend the difficulty of A levels for others. I see it everyday, and I did acknowledge this fact in my original post.

However A levels used to be ALOT harder, and hardly anyone got A grades back in the 80s, so I see no reason why they can't be at the same difficulty now.

Reply 66

beansontoast93

You should add a poll to this. And no, I really do not think they are too easy. I say this as someone who has studied Chemistry, Maths, Biology, English, History and Classical Civilisation at A level over the past few years. They are definetly NOT easy. I got a fair number of A's in my gcse's (in maths, english, english lit, and core science) and mostly b's in the rest. If certain A levels where any harder (such as chemistry) I think many of the students learning it would probably have nervous breakdowns or something.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 67

midnightice

Original post by awilson008

That's not a fact. I'd like to see some solid evidence of this.

Reply 68

Kutta

depends really, i would have loved to learn a bit more mathematical economics at A Level just so I could see what it was like at uni :smile:

Reply 69

Acruzen

Original post by midnightice

2 weeks before the exam?
I'm smelling something here...

I know people who do a past paper the night before and have a flick through the textbook just before going into the exam and get full ums, 2 weeks is nothing

Reply 70

Jammy4410

Original post by awilson008

I've done three quarters of my A levels. I think I've been through enough to share my thoughts on them.

Not really, and you've only done 4 out of the many A levels there are. Generalisation much.

Reply 71

Gkt1378312870

Original post by midnightice

That's not a fact. I'd like to see some solid evidence of this.

You are exuberating naivety here. I thought it was pretty well known. There are enough adults out there who will confirm this for you.

However:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/2540628/A-levels-now-two-grades-easier-than-20-years-ago.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11011564

Reply 72

Chlorophile

Original post by awilson008

Did you read what I said? Like seriously.

"Obviously everybody is at a different level and different people doing different subjects will have had different experiences."

I did take in to consideration that people will be better at different subjects than others. I'm just concerned that those who are at the top of their subject aren't reaching their full potential. I'm sure someone who was amazing at a language may say the same.

Whether or not the subject is easy 'to me' is irrelevant. The fact that A levels are easy for 'some people' surely is a reason why the exams should be made a bit harder to push those people. They're being thrown in to the same bunch of people who just about scrape an A.

The people who find A Levels easy and can get the top grades with next to no effort are in the minority. Therefore, it's madness to change the entire system just to appease the small proportion of people who it's too easy for. If you find A Levels so easy, take more difficult qualifications such as STEP, AEA or Pre-Us.

Reply 73

Gkt1378312870

Original post by Jammy4410

Not really, and you've only done 4 out of the many A levels there are. Generalisation much.

Your original post was concerning how I gave my opinion on A levels before having finished them. This really is irrelevant.

However, that still doesn't prevent me from giving my views on A levels. 4 A levels is a big enough chunk to get experience of them. To say that I have to do every A level before making a judgement is pretty ridiculous. I can take from my own experiences.

Reply 74

plutojupitermars

Original post by awilson008

I know this will be controversial, but I'm wondering if there will be other people who feel the same way as me, so hear me out.

Obviously everybody is at a different level and different people doing different subjects will have had different experiences.

However I am in my A2 year doing maths, physics, chemistry and biology and have been predicted 4A*s, and it didn't really feel like I had to do much.

I've never really had to push myself in these subjects, partly because I really enjoy them and I have a talent for them, but it feels like a bit of a waste that I wasn't pushed further so I could reach my full potential.

I'm trying not to explicitly say that A levels have been dumbed down but I looked at an old physics textbook from the 80s and there's so much interesting stuff in there we will never learn about because it was dubbed 'too hard' for people at this level.

I do understand there's lots of people struggling out there, but I really want to hear from those people who are at the top and feel like they could take a lot more on.

In my opinion grade inflation could be solved by making A levels that wee bit harder and so we can differentiate between all of those people who are snatching As and increasing competition for places at university.

What do you guys think? (Be nice)

I don't feel like they're too easy, but I do agree to some extent. Like you said they could be more interesting, especially physics. I think a bit more particle and quantum stuff would be interesting. Also, the content should be more up to date.

To make it more challenging for gifted students, they could introduce a more challenging version of the subject (like further Physics, etc). That is a good option, I think. It keeps the old version of the subjects for students who don't think they are too easy. So the universities could offer lower grades for students who do the 'Further' subjects, to make it fair.

Reply 75

tomtom415

Oh, do us all a favour and p**s off

Reply 76

MENDACIUM

Definitely not. If it was easy, everyone would get the highest marks. The fact is exams are standardised by grade boundaries. If they were 'easy' then it would be 'harder' to get the higher marks.

Reply 77

Gkt1378312870

Original post by tomtom415

Oh, do us all a favour and p**s off

Haha, nah. Nice contribution though.

Reply 78

midnightice

Original post by awilson008

You sound like you're a teacher. Why do you care so much? If you want to challenge yourself further then do it in your own time - easy exams should be a bonus to you. A-level Philosophy hardly covers my interest in the noumenal world and phenomenological perception of the world, but this doesn't stop me looking it up online or in a book. Gove is reforming A-levels, and in my eyes this will be for the worse.

Reply 79

Gkt1378312870

Original post by MENDACIUM

Definitely not. If it was easy, everyone would get the highest marks. The fact is exams are standardised by grade boundaries. If they were 'easy' then it would be 'harder' to get the higher marks.

You contradicted yourself.

Firstly, you said:
"If it was easy, everyone would get the highest marks."

Then you said:
"If they were 'easy' then it would be 'harder' to get the higher marks."

In my opinion standardisation shouldn't exist. If nobody gets a raw mark that is equivalent to an A, then nobody should get an A.