Have you got your A-level results?

There has been another increase in the number of top grades awarded this year. Is the qualification getting too easy or do students just work harder?

According to results just released, more than one in four UK A-level entries were awarded the top A-grade this year and girls continue to out-perform boys in most major subjects.

Jim Sinclair, director of the Joint Council for Qualifications said the improvement of the results at A-level reflected students' hard work and meant they were "getting the results they deserve".

But the steady improvement in results has inevitably raised questions about standards and the Liberal Democrats are calling for an independent review.

If you have received your results today, did you achieve your expected grades? What do you think of claims that the qualification is being "dumbed down"? Why are girls doing better than boys?

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Reply 1

GarethBrown

I got my grades, what I expected, yes I am pleased, no they're probably not getting easier. Perhaps the standard of education is just getting better.

Reply 2

calcium878

Nope, I'm off to get them in a few minutes.

Reply 3

rainbowspiderweb

a levels being dumbed down? = load of crap they r 100% hard and id neva do them again lol
I got 4 C's and im happy wid that

Reply 4

Aphrodite007

I don't think the exams themselves are getting easier, but circumstances like unlimited resits and modular exams mean the results might not neccessarily be representative.

Reply 5

34253

The grades are on a sliding scale so they could just move the scale up if they wanted to make them harder. Even I can work that out with my weaker a-levels.

Reply 6

Creative

I've not collected my results yet.. but I expect to get all As or Bs... I think the exams are getting easier, but I don't think that is the sole reason for this '1 in 4 gets an A grade' statistic.. these stats don't take into account which subjects have been taken, some are considered easier or harder than others. Although, I guess they are difficult in their own way. E.g. I'd flop at media studies whereas I'd do well in a science.

Besides, the main reason I think is that access to information is much better than it was previously. With the internet, people can look at dozens of past exam papers with a click of a button. So students taking exams get more practice and just.. get the lay of the land, and hence passing the exam with a high grade is just a case of practicing enough beforehand or revising mark-schemes.

The exam syllabuses themselves are somewhat easier in comparison to the syllabuses taught before our generation, but I don't think that has as great an impact on the no. of A-grades in comparison with the level of information students can access nowadays.

Resits are also, lol

As for girls outperforming boys well.. I dunno.. perhaps it's genetic. XX > XY.

Reply 7

sib

ABBB

so much better then i was expecting!!! :biggrin:

Reply 8

Chaz_Hack_Rabbit

ABB I'm not complaining...apart from the weather, had to get a lift with a friend home to prevent being soaked...Like hell are A-levels being dumbed down - If they were being dumbed down, there would be a shed load of people at our school with 3 A's or more!!!

Reply 9

planetzod

Have Your Say

Why are girls doing better than boys?

The girls didn't spend their first 11 years of school throwing bins down flights of steps, getting chased off the school stage by teachers, throwing their food at windows, eating in lessons, implanting yard brushes in ceiling tiles, running around on the roof and beating the crap out of each other at every opportunity. In other words, they have good grades but no real life skills.

I might get my AS results at lunch time if I'm not too lazy or busy. I’m expecting an A in psychology, B in biology, hopeful of an A in chemistry but B is perhaps more likely, and B/C in history and A in critical thinking. If I’d led a more boring life I would probably be set for 5 As but setting **** on fire is fun and I have no regrets.

edit: I'm planetzod's brother... I never knew he had an account here or autologin for it on this PC :]

Reply 10

sol89

Yes! BBB and accepted by Southampton! :biggrin:

Reply 11

PhilHaggis

WOOOO!! I have said this on another thread but hey, i'm happy so I will say it again.

I opened by results this morning on the 8AM GMTV news lol - AAAA so chuffed. So Cambridge here I come.

I have also managed to get into the Lancashire Evening Post three times today :biggrin:

I'm a celeb!!

Reply 12

all red and ermine

I am shocked that one in four got A's or I am assuming at least one (1) 'A' grade.

Only a few people in my year even passed; with C's and above (their grade collection was from CCC to BBC. My friend group grade collection was all ABB strangely(!) and I was the only person with a string of them (A's).

It's only on TSR I ever see the AAAAAAAAb etc which is fabulous and due to their amazingness at academia :smile:

Anyway, so is it 25% of all students get one A or get three A's...

Reply 13

all red and ermine

PHIL! WOW WELL DONE and congrats on cantab!!!!!!!! :smile:

i'd love to be on GMTV just for the lulz ha!

Reply 14

FoeGeddaBowDeet

CCDD, lots of retakes next year.

Reply 15

ChJaRo

I got mine, and who gives a flying ******* if they are getting easier, if the best grade you can get is an A, and people are getting them, they can't exactly do any better. I guess some people just like to find the negative side of everything... I guess they'd be happy if everyone got Us.

I know that this year, I worked really hard to get my As. And I did pretty much all the past papers over the last 10-12 years and they have all the same content, so they must of gotten easier 10 years ago.

Reply 16

gaijin

The education system is exploiting young people, not young people exploiting the education system. You can only jump through the hurdles that are laid out for you. But the sad fact is that if 25% of the rest of your classmates acquire the same grades, it becomes increasingly difficult to separate the proverbial wheat from the chaff.

Why do girls outscore boys? Could be testosterone, could be genetics. Could be that lads are more likely to doss at that age than think about their life for the next few years. But in the end, the boys who do end up getting the grades to go into uni are statistically more likely to earn more than a women in their chosen careers. But then again, they are statistically more likely to live off the dole and work in Burger King as well.

I personally think that the modular system needs to be scrapped and they should have a tiered grading system that assesses your mark to everyone in the country, rather than some vague meritocratic system. Because at the end of the day that is who we are all competing against in this greenish blue blob of ours. That would certainly help out admissions officers and employers.

Reply 17

hannah_dru

I was predicted AAA and got ABD. Depends on the person but I don't think they're that easy. Not if they can lead to depression and nervous breakdowns like in my case.
I'd certainly call AQA MED6 not easy at all. That was the most stupid exam ever. They are a nasty board.
When I did AS last year Drama Edexcel was not easy. We got a dodgy examiner who gave us all U's for our performance. The board wouldn't budge.

Reply 18

Jim-ie

Theres always something for someone to whinge about isnt there?

Students do ****e in their A levels, someone will whinge about them being too hard
Students do well in their A levels, someone will whinge about them being too easy

Make up your ****ing minds. The way some A levels are marked is flawed to begin with, it doesnt matter in the long run.