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Weird GCSE exams?

GCSE students, are you confused and wondering why your exams have been so weird? Yes?
Well, I have the answer:
Michael Gove.
He's apparently told exam boards to up the difficulty of their papers in the two years before the GCSEs change.
And to some exam boards, more difficult = weirder.
So yeah. Now that we know exams are going to be harder, we can improve our revision! Geography and Biology will just be minor blimps on our results, but that doesn't matter since we'll do well in everything else!
Also, does anyone have any grade boundary predictions for the exams so far? If yes, post them here :smile:

Reply 1

momomomo123

I did B2 and B3 today and am seriously gutted.
Others I have spoken to have found them easy though, so the grade boundaries might be high.

Reply 2

FatmanO

Oh that's why people are coming out of exams saying that it was so much harder than any past paper they had done for revision. Damn you Gove.

Reply 3

momomomo123

But if a lot of people have done worse than in previous years, won't they lower the grade boundaries?
Or is it their motive to reduce the number of people doing well?

Reply 4

Parallex

I agree. They seem to be wording questions very weirdly and missing out the topics that you're most likely to revise in the exam (whilst putting in the topics that you're less likely to revise, usually the smaller topics that they make a big question out of).

Reply 5

interstitial

They weren't more difficult IMO, just phrased in a way that might have actually required people to think a bit instead of just regurgitating facts (shocker, I know :eek:

).

Grade boundaries will be slightly lower I think as most people found them harder (assuming GCSEs are graded on a bell curve.)

Posted from TSR Mobile

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 6

Rubato

If that B2 has a higher grade boundary than B3 last year I'm going to be seriously shocked. Last years exams were pieces of cake compared to this year :/

Reply 7

momomomo123

Original post by Manexopi

If that B2 has a higher grade boundary than B3 last year I'm going to be seriously shocked. Last years exams were pieces of cake compared to this year :/

I know right? Last year's B3 only required 36 marks for A* but I found it A LOT easier. And as for B2, don't even mention...

Reply 8

Lana_Banana

Original post by majmuh24

They weren't more difficult IMO, just phrased in a way that might have actually required people to think a bit instead of just regurgitating facts (shocker, I know :eek:

).

Grade boundaries will be slightly lower I think as most people found them harder (assuming GCSEs are graded on a bell curve.)

Posted from TSR Mobile

+1
Yeah; I don't get what's so hard about applying a bit of common sense.

Reply 9

suzywithaZY

Original post by Lana_Banana

+1
Yeah; I don't get what's so hard about applying a bit of common sense.

Not harder, weirder. That's what I said in my OP, right?

Reply 10

harmingjuli

What would you say worst case scenario for the B2 and B3 A*. I went over the test after school with my teacher and would guess from our chat that I got around 45 in B2 and 50 in B3. Both worst case scenario. But B2 is likely to be more than 45 marks for me.

I am thinking :
41 for B2 A* - with 100 UMS around 45/46.

43 for B3 A* - with 100 UMS around 47/48.

What do you think? I only feel I struggled on one question through the course of both papers: the magnesium in the chloroplasts. Now thinking about it, I should have remembered the answer from year 9 biology.

Reply 11

Rubato

I think the problem with biology for me is the way the marks are allocated so I have no idea have I've done. Like the graph with the temperature how on earth do you get 6 marks and the fish cage one I didn't know how to get 4 marks

Reply 12

revisioner

Think of factory farming so fish were restricted from moving so energy wasn't lost from muscles contracting...

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 13

username664275

At least an A/A* will be worth a bit more seeing as exams are actually a bit difficult.

Also, there's no point thinking about how an exam went; you can't change the outcome now :smile:

Reply 14

Lana_Banana

Original post by thechemistress

Not harder, weirder. That's what I said in my OP, right?

No I do get wgat you've said in your OP, but I was just giving my opinion on comments by posters earlier in the thread saying people have been finding these exams difficult.