The Student Room Group

Anybody else think A levels are too easy?

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Original post by midnightice
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.


I'd like to that as a compliment but I'm just a teenager who loves to learn!
Reply 81
Original post by awilson008
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.


Context number 1: If A-levels were easy, we would just see a huge surplus of people getting A's.

Context 2: Within the actual singular exams, each exam is marked by a grade boundary and often standardised by how everyone else has done. This means an 'easier' exam entails one to need higher marks to get an A. So even if A-Levels did become 'easier' it would make no difference.

A = true.

B = true anyway, but a solid proof against exams becoming 'easier'.

It's not exhaustive but in the right direction.
I'm doing Maths, FM, Physics and Economics. First three are fairly easy to me (although a got only 77& in S1 and 83% in Physics Unit 1) but I don't get your thoughts. If you want to develop your understanding on a subject, just do it in your own time - nothing stops you.
Reply 83
At the op. What school do you go to?
Reply 84
Really? Some people find A levels really hard, and think you are being pretty harsh by posting that as many people revise really hard and can't get the top grades.

Congrats on your grades, shame everyone can't do that! (just some advice, showing off is not cool)

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Original post by awilson008
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.


Making a judgement on all A levels when you have only done 4 and they are mainly in the science field is even more ridiculous
Original post by awilson008
I'd like to that as a compliment but I'm just a teenager who loves to learn!


Then just learn in your own time. Why does it have to be encircled in A-levels? Do you seek reward in your learning then? This would just negate the process of learning.
Reply 87
As an Asian :P, a levels are really easy for science subjects compared to what i had in hong kong because the percentage of A*s given out is very high (only 2% in hk:s-smilie:) and the questions are asked in a waayy more straightforward manner.
Not sure about the other subjects though:colondollar: my friend finds psycho really hard (pbl becoz english is not her first language)
Well, they're probably not overly challenging for the very brightest, but you have to remember that they have to be targeted at the whole population, so of course, there's going to be a huge range in ability there.
A-levels aren't easy. If they were, people wouldn't be getting Bs and Cs and would be on straight As. Yes, plenty of people do find them easy, but they exist to be hard.

I've heard plenty of people say that A-levels are the hardest set of exams you'll do, and to some extent, I must agree. I am only in my first year of university, but the workload here is so much less and it is a lot easier than the A-levels were. It also helps that we do weekly assessments instead of just exams and coursework at the very end of the year! Most of my modules are coursework based and I only have 2 exams after Easter. God knows why they want to make A-levels harder when doing a degree is easy in comparison.


A-levels seem to exist to cram in as much as possible in a short space of time. If you can find it easy, then that's very good for you. I found some A-levels easier than others. Some were so boring (yet essential for my course) so I didn't have as much motivation to do them.
Reply 90
Original post by Robbie242
Ok again stop, this is your background, your grades, not everyone is the same. In fact a lot of standard alevel-goers are only allowed to take 3/4subjects so the assumption is you were persistent through gcse, then alevel so the jump didn't really feel like a jump, or your privately educated. Now the common populace would object overall an increase in difficulty to alevels; TSR is just a small section of the student population


I was only allowed to take 4 AS levels, but did two myself. I'm not privately educated. Is there a problem?
Reply 91
Original post by JOR2010
I was only allowed to take 4 AS levels, but did two myself. I'm not privately educated. Is there a problem?
Ok everyone is different is all I'm saying, everyone has a different capacity and changing the system could cause some people to crackle even more under alevels
Original post by SillyEddy


I've heard plenty of people say that A-levels are the hardest set of exams you'll do, and to some extent, I must agree. I am only in my first year of university, but the workload here is so much less and it is a lot easier than the A-levels were. It also helps that we do weekly assessments instead of just exams and coursework at the very end of the year! Most of my modules are coursework based and I only have 2 exams after Easter. God knows why they want to make A-levels harder when doing a degree is easy in comparison.



I would say that very much depends on the degree. Certainly, I've never heard anyone at Cambridge say they find their degree easier than their A Levels. The workload of my Cambridge degree has been far far far far higher than A Levels.
Original post by yorkshire.lad
I'm doing chemistry, physics, and biology. The only one I find remotely easy is chemistry, and I've got multiple offers to study medicine, and I would say I am reasonably intelligent.

Stop posting rubbish boy wonder.


Huh? What did I do? :confused:
No its not easy

You just study 24 hours a day, while ur eating and while ur in the toilet...

But here's the catch! You will never actually realise that ur studying that much! Your just a brilliant academic geek....

If u have a strong purpose for something, then hard work is not a choice, its a necessity! Same goes for ur education but most people have different capabilities compared to yours and different distractions in life...
exactly dude lol take it easy, stop boasting about your academic achievements on a forum. sad as hell honestly.

i grew up in one of the poorer areas of the country, went to state school, moved up north, went to a crap high school, will hopefully be leaving college with A*AA and have multiple offers for medicine, i don't go around creating threads about it, you are just plain arrogant.
Original post by yorkshire.lad
exactly dude lol take it easy, stop boasting about your academic achievements on a forum. sad as hell honestly.

i grew up in one of the poorer areas of the country, went to state school, moved up north, went to a crap high school, will hopefully be leaving college with A*AA and have multiple offers for medicine, i don't go around creating threads about it, you are just plain arrogant.


Except you just bragged about it in this post.......
Original post by Chief Wiggum
Except you just bragged about it in this post.......


Sorry if it came across as if I was bragging, didn't mean it like that haha.
Original post by yorkshire.lad
Sorry if it came across as if I was bragging, didn't mean it like that haha.


Well I personally don't care, but I just thought it was kinda funny that you were basically showing off whilst telling the OP he shouldn't do that. Show off if you want, I don't mind. :p:
Original post by Chief Wiggum
Well I personally don't care, but I just thought it was kinda funny that you were basically showing off whilst telling the OP he shouldn't do that. Show off if you want, I don't mind. :p:


It was the sense of arrogance that I got from the OP's post that tipped me over the edge more than anything else, and the fact he stated himself he doesnt put any effort into his exams.

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