What do you think of CLOSED BOOK exams?!

The Government have made new GCSE English Lit exams closed book rather than open book, so you can't take your texts into the exam with you and have to learn the quotes.

A petition with over 100,000 signatures went to the government, lobbying for open book exams to come back and this was the response they gave:
"GCSE English literature content requires students to read the full texts of the books and poems they study. Students will not need to remember the exact words of poems by heart in order to succeed." (Read the full response here)

The House of Commons has been talking to TSR and wants to know your opinions!! :eek2:

Give us your thoughts on these questions before Wednesday 12th April to have your voices heard!

- How will closed book English exams affect you and your mark?
- What do you think about the Government's response to the petition?
- How do you think GCSE English Lit exams should be assessed?
- If you were an MP taking part in the debate, what points would you raise and what would you ask the Government?

:banana:

Quotes

(edited 7 years ago)

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1

faloodeh

i think its ridiculous

-someone who sucks at english lit

Reply 2

WhiteyBread101

Original post by Faloodeh

i think its ridiculous

-someone who sucks at english lit

Do you think it'll impact your mark? :sad:

Reply 3

faloodeh

Original post by Gingerbread101

Do you think it'll impact your mark? :sad:

Most likely. When we had our mocks, our teacher told us if it was marked with the old specification most of us would have gotten A's.

It also depends on how nasty the questions will be :s-smilie:

Reply 4

username1221160

If you can't memorise a few pokey quotes then God help you in the adult world.

Reply 5

_gcx

Study Forum Helper

- How will closed book English exams affect you and your mark?

I really cannot say. I am not too bothered about the changes. In my opinion, the volume of quotes required isn't as large as many people perceive it to be, with the analysation and, more important, context links and links back to the question. (many people seem to neglect the latter) It need not be a game of memorisation, it is still a test of the candidate's ability to dissect a text, with some mentions to the texts as a whole, which shouldn't be too demanding. The Government's statement is quite sensible, as many candidates seem to now be prioritising learning quotes, and even whole poems for whatever reason, over exam technique, and what is going to get marks. You can recall the whole Anthology if you want to, but if you cannot analyse it well, you will be on the same level as a candidate who gave it a quick flick through the weekend before.

- What do you think about the Government's response to the petition?

"No". It's incredibly unlikely that any such reform would occur any time soon. If it did, it would be largely unfair to this year's cohort.

- How do you think GCSE English Lit exams should be assessed?

I'm assuming this extends to the whole subject of English Literature. I would be tempted to reintroduce coursework, it still has a respectable role within assessment, and undoubtedly provide the students with a clean copy of the Anthology. Providing the student with a copy of each text, would be an absolutely ridiculous task.

- If you were an MP taking part in the debate, what points would you raise and what would you ask the Government?

The purpose of the 9-1 reforms was to make the exams more challenging, and more discriminating, and the reforms have indeed accomplished that to some extent. Students will naturally throw a fit when asked to complete an exam harder than the previous years', that is just to be expected. I do however believe that the withdrawal of the coursework component, was not a change that assists this goal. (nor was the withdrawal of the Anthology, to be honest.)

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 6

lemonandlime1

Don't see the problem, I'm in year 13 now but I did "closed book" English gcse exams. Not like you need to learn the book word for word just pick out a few key points lol

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 7

Dan11235

I remember English lit GCSE and I would have struggled if it was closed book. You already had to remember the pages and area of the book the quotes were in and the rough wording but to get the full quote I think the book is needed. You can't write in the book, it has to be a fresh copy anyway so I don't think there is any benefit to removing the book. In my opinion, it will just make people have to learn quotes off by heart which will add no lasting value to their education.

Reply 8

Good bloke

The only think more ridiculous than complaining that the government has seen sense and turned back the clock to saner times is thinking that the matter could be worthy of sensible debate.

Reply 9

_gcx

Study Forum Helper

Original post by Good bloke

The only think more ridiculous than complaining that the government has seen sense and turned back the clock to saner times is thinking that the matter could be worthy of sensible debate.

This, indeed. The truth is, is that children now are more accustomed to easier, reformed exams, and hence these 9-1 and A-level reforms have come as a great shock difficulty-wise.

Reply 10

username1751857

This petition will have no impact on those sitting it in 2017, it's too late to change the papers. All they can do is offer help to make sure we are prepared for the exam. I also see nothing wrong with closed book examinations, we should be spending time on answering the question and not flicking through pages trying to look for quotes - challenging, yes, but necessary reform.

Reply 11

chris2791

Im dyslexic and my school dosent support me memorising is like memorising different languages and then asked to speak fluently so open book exam will help many unprivileged children like me who do not have that "natural" talent in the arty subjects

Reply 12

Luke7456

Original post by Quantex

If you can't memorise a few pokey quotes then God help you in the adult world.

they got a long way to go to that dude they have 2 years of A level then the adult day care for another 4 years at university.

Reply 13

richpanda

It's the same for every single student, it's important to remember that. Work hard and make the best of your situation.

There will always be perennial moaners who love to complain.

Good on the Government for not bending the knee.

Reply 14

Airmed

If I remember correctly my English Lit GCSE was closed book. Was it a bother? Nope.

Reply 15

999tigger

Agree with the same for everyone view. I thought all exams used to be closed book. At some point in exams there was a lot more continuous assessment and open book. How much easier do students want it? No wonder people talk about grade inflation.

Reply 16

CraigBackner

Original post by Quantex

If you can't memorise a few pokey quotes then God help you in the adult world.

you dont need to remember a bunch of useless information in the adult world? just be able to do your job well

Reply 17

old6h

I did my English Lit GCSE last year, but I still had to do it closed book. The closed book exam is annoying, more than anything else. Learning quotes just adds another level of stress to the entire exam, and I do not believe that your ability to memorise a few quotes reflects your true ability in the subject. Revising the quotes takes time away from perfecting the more important skills required in the exam.

Reply 18

.A_C.

Okay, lets get things straight here - Your exam grade depends on which marker's desk it lands upon, not how much you can regurgitate from Shakespeare.

The problem is *subjective marking*. I can give a paper to 5 different markers and they can all come back with different grades in different bands (ie- A,B,C etc). This is a major issue for exam boards and Universities across the globe.

In another words, I don't trust them. And you shouldn't either.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 19

Good bloke

Original post by 999tigger

No wonder people talk about grade inflation.

Grade inflation could be removed at a stroke if, say, the top 5% of candidates were given A grades, the next 10% B and so on.

Universities and employers would know that someone with an A was in the top 5% for that subject in their cohort and there would be complete consistency - and the exam system would be fit for its intended purpose in helping to make selections again.