15 August 2013 A-Level results: Discussion thread - results day is here!

Here's a good article on it:
http://www.independent.co.uk/student/news/alevel-reforms-will-reduce-access-say-vicechancellors-8755928.html?origin=internalSearch

Particularly;
"AS-levels ensure increased breadth post-16 and help students defer choices until they have a better grasp of subjects beyond GCSE."

"The proposed reforms are in our view detrimental to widening participation and fair admissions. The reforms will hamper transitions, deprive students of choice and flexibility and force them to commit to subjects which they may find entirely unsuitable as they mature academically and make choices about their future."

The point is the reforms would altogether eradicate AS Levels, which are used to ease the transition from GCSEs. They generally are more likely to benefit kids who have came from the 'worse' state schools because it is those kids that are less likely to be 'academic.' Oxbridge even agree.

My point of view is this; these reforms would only increase the system's dependency on examinations/standardised testing by weighing everything on those end of 2 year exams. It has been seen that state school kids do better with coursework than exams, and exams only really test the ability to time-keep and write fast, long essays etc, which anyway doesn't actually test true potential or employability at all.

I agree A-Levels need reforms, but I'd argue they need to be less standardised (and less reliant on mark schemes), not more as Gove insists. The only time during my A-Levels that I truly felt my true potential was being tested was when I a) wasn't rushed for time with my essays, and b) was doing the coursework for Lit and History. The same may not be right for the sciences or maths, but it's hard to argue examinations are really the best measurement of a child's intelligence. It's more so a measurement of how much aid they have been given in their time at school to be trained to perform well in such circumstances.
And lest we forget Gove is the most privileged and elite, indifferent prick to ever tread the Earth.

I might be rude, and I might come across as generalising, but at least I base my generalisations on real-life observations.

Is this a funny way of saying that all of your evidence is anecdotal?

Kids who go to private schools or have pushy parents that shove textbooks down their throats always end up at a much better place than everyone else, it's not right.

It is actually a case that kids who work harder (or are simply more intelligent than you) end up at better places, which is completely fair. Pushy parents/teachers are one way of achieving this but ultimately the person who sits the exams is you and it is completely down to you where you end up, not anyone else.

Class has such a strong influence on someone's achievement, it makes me sick. Education in this country is rigged. It's a joke.

Really? Do those nasty private school kids go into the exams with copies of the solutions from the examiner? No. The exam is completely fair. They might prepare better for it but at the end of the day your preparation is in your own hands.

I'm not as envious as you'd think; my parents are middle-class themselves and they didn't push me. They only wanted me to be happy unlike a lot of these proud dinner-party show-offs. I'm a product of my own desire to succeed, not some artificially instilled one.

I wonder who is happier - all of these devil-spawned private pupils off to Oxbridge or you, spending your time trying to use class divisions as an excuse for your own inadequacies. A parent doesn't push their child just so they can show them off - they also want the child to do well to secure long term security and happiness.

Agreed. This is the most unbiased post on this conversation yet, and the only one that sounds like its coming from a reasonable person.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Agreed. This is the most unbiased post on this conversation yet, and the only one that sounds like its coming from a reasonable person.

Posted from TSR Mobile

I'm holding out for that thought process to work for me.
Ooh, that sounds like a really good combo. One of my friends is keen to do film studies, but I don't think she wants to venture outside London. Definitely, good luck! Do you have an insurance?
I want to do geography, but I have a feeling that my geography exams went less than brilliantly. But here's hoping...!

I still don't believe in this strategy. People's best work comes from their own desire to learn a particular subject or range of subjects. If people just learn something because they're told by their parents that it's the only way forward, similar to house chores, then sure, they'll reap results, but they'll eventually hit a wall. I think it is a problem, because a lot of kids go into a profession or area of study that they wouldn't of considered had it not been for their pushy parents; you end up with mediocre doctors and lawyers etc, but their aptitudes could have been put to better use somewhere else.

I'm not saying you believe in pushy parents, I'm saying that it can be a problem, especially if the child didn't have a choice.

And yea, with reference to the other guy's post, A levels majorly suck.

.....

Here's a good article on it:
http://www.independent.co.uk/student/news/alevel-reforms-will-reduce-access-say-vicechancellors-8755928.html?origin=internalSearch

Particularly;
"AS-levels ensure increased breadth post-16 and help students defer choices until they have a better grasp of subjects beyond GCSE."

"The proposed reforms are in our view detrimental to widening participation and fair admissions. The reforms will hamper transitions, deprive students of choice and flexibility and force them to commit to subjects which they may find entirely unsuitable as they mature academically and make choices about their future."

The point is the reforms would altogether eradicate AS Levels, which are used to ease the transition from GCSEs. They generally are more likely to benefit kids who have came from the 'worse' state schools because it is those kids that are less likely to be 'academic.' Oxbridge even agree.

My point of view is this; these reforms would only increase the system's dependency on examinations/standardised testing by weighing everything on those end of 2 year exams. It has been seen that state school kids do better with coursework than exams, and exams only really test the ability to time-keep and write fast, long essays etc, which anyway doesn't actually test true potential or employability at all.

I agree A-Levels need reforms, but I'd argue they need to be less standardised (and less reliant on mark schemes), not more as Gove insists. The only time during my A-Levels that I truly felt my true potential was being tested was when I a) wasn't rushed for time with my essays, and b) was doing the coursework for Lit and History. The same may not be right for the sciences or maths, but it's hard to argue examinations are really the best measurement of a child's intelligence. It's more so a measurement of how much aid they have been given in their time at school to be trained to perform well in such circumstances.
And lest we forget Gove is the most privileged and elite, indifferent prick to ever tread the Earth.

So yours are biased and you're an unreasonable person?

tapped out, haven't played candy crush saga

Omg I think they same...probably chemistry too. UCL is a good one.

Is it by tomorrow evening when the grade boundaries are made avilable? Cause it did for jan

The closer results are getting, the more I think I've failed.

I think I will be ok with chemistry but only because I've got high scores in other units which make it a bit more leniant. AQA Chem uijfeiudsjvk.

Boundaries should be released on the 14th, so Wednesday. If i'm not mistaken, it should be around Midnight, but it depends on whether someone who has access to them can broadcast them to all of us (which usually does happen on TSR!)

Omg, English is what I will change to if I fail history too!
I know its so annoying trying to get a job, when you need experience to get one, but need a job for experience :L. What unis are you considering?

C4 and F332
....KILLED me!