Brand new "Super A*" already in place

Poll

Should the A* with Distinction be introduced?

I'm in Year 11 and got my final GCSE Maths results yesterday, an A*! I was predicted a B so I'm well chuffed :smile:

. The people who got As and A*s today were placed into the top set where we are now studying:

AQA Level 2 Certificate in Further Mathematics.

It's similar to an Advanced FSMQ and is based on the more advanced A* GCSE problems, as well as introducing students to co-ordinate geometry, calculus, and matrices. We are sitting the two papers in June and it's the first ever qualification to have a so called super A*. The grades available are:

A^ (A* with Distinction)
A*
A
B
C
U (Fail)

AQA is the first exam board to use this A* with Distinction; they say it's to challenge and inspire those students sitting the paper, as they are mostly A(*) pupils, and it looks like other boards are keen to follow up with their versions of the A^.

To get the A^, there is not a set percentage like 90% A*, 80% A, but they are looking for a consistency in the topic areas. Although I'm unsure how one is supposed to obtain this A^.

My question is what do you think of this new A* with Distinction? Is it only a matter of time before we see this A* with Distinction in GCSEs? Or is it only going to stay for these Further Maths qualifications? Should there be an A^ in the first place?

Reply 1

Xero Xenith

10

Original post by luke

Congrats on your result! :smile:

...but I'm pretty sure threads already exist along these lines?

Anyway, I think they're pretty much pointless. Surely an A* in Further Maths GCSE means a hell of a lot anyway. They're not a bad thing - if anything, giving top students something to aim for is Mr Good Thing™. But I don't see the point when the A* should be a challenge already!

Reply 2

luke

OP

Original post by Xero Xenith

Congrats on your result! :smile:

...but I'm pretty sure threads already exist along these lines?

Anyway, I think they're pretty much pointless. Surely an A* in Further Maths GCSE means a hell of a lot anyway. They're not a bad thing - if anything, giving top students something to aim for is Mr Good Thing™. But I don't see the point when the A* should be a challenge already!

Haha, thanks :biggrin:

I searched for it beforehand and nothing came up about the actual qualification. I can see how it challenges Further Maths students, but I fear because of it it's going to end up becoming part of the GCSE grades, which I'm definitely against!

Reply 3

Xero Xenith

10

Original post by luke

Haha, thanks :biggrin:

I searched for it beforehand and nothing came up about the actual qualification. I can see how it challenges Further Maths students, but I fear because of it it's going to end up becoming part of the GCSE grades, which I'm definitely against!

It's also not a GCSE :tongue:

AQA reserve the right to introduce weird stuff like this on their own qualifications, but whether the A^ grade will get any public support if Ofqual tried to introduce it is another question...

(I really like the symbol A^ though. It fits - A* (multiplying) is followed by A^ (exponentiating)!)

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 4

c3ntury

2

First thing I noticed is that it's a certificate rather than a formal GCSE, but I'm sure it's worth more than a BTEC and is probably the same as a GCSE, but slightly different (with the Super A*).

Either way, I wish I had the same opportunity; I got an A!

Well done on your results :smile:

Reply 5

redtortoise

3

It will probably just been that an A* would be an A and an A would be a B so it would be pointless

Reply 6

Fragile_Illusions

14

So pointless. Why not inspire and challenge students by increasing the grade boundaries?

Reply 7

Ch1pp0

12

Original post by Fragile_Illusions

So pointless. Why not inspire and challenge students by increasing the grade boundaries?

Because then the government (under Lab or Con) can't say year after year that students are doing better than last year even though, in my opinion, people are getting thicker year on year.

Reply 8

Josh_Dey

16

Super A*? Are they having a laugh?

An A* is enough, Super A* - woooaahh, now you're going to a new level. **** me.

(edited 12 years ago)

Lol.

Hi
I am in year 11 doing this course....
are there any past papers I can find/get...as most of them seem to be locked-ie only teachers can go onto them...

Reply 11

Llamageddon

18

Original post by Ch1pp0

Because then the government (under Lab or Con) can't say year after year that students are doing better than last year even though, in my opinion, people are getting thicker year on year.

You've clearly not worked with older generations. They're **** at maths, can barely spell, don't understand computers... and that's the well paid ones.

NeCrOpOsT

Reply 12

Like_A_G6

19

One day there will be a 'super dumber fantabulous A*'. What we have is enough. If too many people are getting the top grades make the syllabus harder, put in some integration and differentiation of trigonometric functions and take away any data book. If someone gets an A*, congratulations to them, well deserved, but if the exam board think too many people are they should just make the exams a little bit harder. I remember for our A Levels a lot of exams were so easy they had grade boundaries of 73/75 for an A* which didn't meant to get it all you had to know were basic principles and not make a silly mistake in the exam.

Reply 13

Ch1pp0

12

Original post by Llamageddon

You've clearly not worked with older generations. They're **** at maths, can barely spell, don't understand computers... and that's the well paid ones.

NeCrOpOsT

I don't know what kind of older people you know but the only people I know that seem to care about spelling are at least 40. I'll give they don't understand computers but I don't think many people of our generation do either. Sure they can use a computer but when something goes wrong they're as clueless as the old people. And with regard to the maths, I don't know, I've never really tried to test old people on their maths. My granny is pretty good at the maths sections of the daily mail puzzle page though...

Reply 14

Llamageddon

18

Original post by Ch1pp0

I don't know what kind of older people you know but the only people I know that seem to care about spelling are at least 40. I'll give they don't understand computers but I don't think many people of our generation do either. Sure they can use a computer but when something goes wrong they're as clueless as the old people. And with regard to the maths, I don't know, I've never really tried to test old people on their maths. My granny is pretty good at the maths sections of the daily mail puzzle page though...

I was thinking more about baby boomers than retirees. Seeing as the latter mostly left school at 14 I think we can forgive them a few errors. I think you really are looking through rose tinted glasses at previous generations though as it simply doesn’t match my experiences with them. Ask yourself this: do you feel your education is below the standard of your parents? Who are you comparing and to whom are you comparing them to? I suspect (well tbh I’m pretty certain) that exams have gotten easier, but information has become more accessible and teaching HAS improved too (though not for the teachers).

Reply 15

Ch1pp0

12

Original post by Llamageddon

I was thinking more about baby boomers than retirees. Seeing as the latter mostly left school at 14 I think we can forgive them a few errors. I think you really are looking through rose tinted glasses at previous generations though as it simply doesn’t match my experiences with them. Ask yourself this: do you feel your education is below the standard of your parents? Who are you comparing and to whom are you comparing them to? I suspect (well tbh I’m pretty certain) that exams have gotten easier, but information has become more accessible and teaching HAS improved too (though not for the teachers).

I agree with you on the exams getting easier. I'm doing Maths at Uni and when I saw my Dad's O-level maths paper I was like "Bloody hell, this is pretty tricky stuff."

I feel that my education was probably below the standard of my parents. Well... I think that my parents learnt fewer subjects to a greater depth which is how I believe education should be done. I, on the other hand, covered more subjects but not in any great detail.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 16

thetejmaster

well of course maths is getting easier...the goverment/institution/schools want people to get higher grades because they can say to people you are achieving more...
the government wanted more people to go to university so that it would look good...and thus uni exams got easier, thus a-level exams got easier.....etc.
this leads to this qualification which is frankly ridocoulous....

Reply 17

starkey

7

If you can get a grade higher than the maximum grade now, then surely they should just move the grade boundaries up without having to introduce a superior grade?