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"UK exam system for A-levels extremely flawed" Discuss

right so somethinng that really bothers me about our exam system is that it is solely based on remembering 2 years worth of info in a single exam. Also it doesn't actually assess much of your other skills for e.g. how well you do throughout the year and in class, your verbal ability and communication skills. I've been told by many teachers that my verbal skills are at an A or A* level but my essay writing skills are more at a B. it's really upsetting because i do try to work very hard and I'm very involved in class much mroe than many sutdents but doesnt reflect on my grade at all.

I know student who dont attend class all year and they dont revise for exam, very lazy and they get As and then they brag about how they didnt even revise and I, have attended almost every lesson and I;ve worked quite hard and I'm still getting Bs . How is that fair for the students who actually put so much effort in? Sure... unis want students who perform well but do they want lazy unreliable students or hardworking persistent students?

Reply 1

Ray_Shadows

Original post by justanotherchica

I know student who dont attend class all year and they dont revise for exam, very lazy and they get As and then they brag about how they didnt even revise and

yeh a guy bragged about buying a lambo, but he refuses to bring it in :/

but he said it , so that must be true right?

Spoiler

Reply 2

Daveboi115

I think universities as an establishment claim to want hard working and persistent students however this ethos is often undermined on a personal level. Individual professors sometimes have high levels of passion and want students to succeed and thrive in their pursuit of knowledge whilst others don’t really care provided you pass the course. Universities have also been known to turn a blind eye to succeeding student;, I’ve seen it happen on numerous occasions. In the grand scheme of things, two years worth of material is not necessarily the most outrageous amount. A lot of professional university degrees have final exams encompassing varying questions from the years passed already during one’s university career. I can only speak on behalf of the life and health sciences but, for us it’s a case of always building on the foundations you have set. To really understand the core of the subject you must first understand the basics. Certainly for degrees related to healthcare, such as biomed, Physiotherapy, medicine etc. You must be able to understand what is taught over the full length of your course. Medicine students have 5 years worth of material, maybe 4 if you discount the general sciences covered in first years. Biomed students have 3/4 years worth of material to remember dependant on their programme of study (professionally accredited or not). So I don’t think it’s unreasonable to ask an A-level student to remember two years worth of material. It’s simply a good step towards being able to cope with university level work.

Reply 3

ultimateradman

Personally, I completely disagree with this view that exams at the end of the two years is a terrible way to measure our improvement. Whilst not everyone may be good at them, they are the simplest way to give us grade

Reply 4

username3489684

Original post by Daveboi115

yes i certainly agree that remembering the content is important (even though everyone forgets it anywyay) but shouldn't our final grade be also based on our class performance like America instead of solely basing it on exams like denoting a percentage to class performance .eg. 25% like it would acc improve attendance, pupils' attention and engagement which are some og the many skills required in higher edu. and in the work force.

Reply 5

Miss B'

Personally I think the exams being linear rather than modular means that they are able to assess ability more thoroughly. Many students cram-memorised info for modules and then forgot it, but those who were able to retain, apply and extend weren't able to demonstrate this in modular exams and for my subjects (sciences) the latter shows far more relevant capability.

I am with you 100% on how poorly 1 course can fully assess all of an individual's strengths, but I do fully appreciate how difficult it would be to develop an assessment like that.

I think those that are lazy but successfully have probably just learnt to be smart about their studies and close the gap on exam specific answers in quite a short space of time. It isn't fair, per se, but it also doesn't mean that they will necessarily achieve better later in life as, as you say, they don't have some of the critical skills.

I think it's important that you learn what you can from both sides and aim for your personal best. You might be competing against these people now in some respects but you have your own very unique style that will be worth much more to your life than exam grades (and soon - time flies!).

Reply 6

username3434964

Meh I do better in exams generally (talking about the whole education system - GCSEs and A-Levels and any other exams)

Reply 7

soIiIoquy

well, even if people did disagree, i doubt things will change any time soon or maybe never. i mean a-levels have been around for a longg time

well alevels wont change before my exams this summer... :/ so i dont care lol, no point complaining,

and plus who cares about what others get, just work by yourself, for yourself ,and achieve the success.

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 8

Dysf(x)al

Original post by justanotherchica

I do agree that there should be less focus on memorising (let's face it, everyone forgets everything afterwards) and writing. But in the end, if a student is lazy and gets As, it's because either they have a lot of natural talent (in which case their lazyness will bite them later on) or they're working hard, just behind the scenes.

The problem with basing it on class performace is that it's very much down to the teacher and the school. Who you have or where you go shouldn't affect your grade. With controlled assessments and coursework it can be moderated, but there's no way to moderate a class assessment. I would however say that I prefer the modular approach over the new linear one.

Reply 9

higgs334

In an ideal world, all exams will be orally based. Like a PhD is done partly. We'd sit with an examiner and orally recite what they ask and explain it that way. It'd then be recorded, checked and then a score will be made.

That's just long and expensive.

So the alternatives really are a) assessed based on assignments throughout the year e.g. the American system. They've seen a problem where grades have inflated as teachers purposefully giving out higher grades to weaker students.

and then theres our system. Which, as you said, is flawed because one performance on maybe a couple of exams isnt indicative for a lot of students

I think if you're working hard but not getting top grades then you're not working smart enough. Look at the spec, do past papers and see what your weaknesses are

Reply 10

Trinculo

You'd get just as many people, if not more moaning about any element of verbal examination.

Look how many people on TSR claim to have social anxiety, and see how they'd face up to verbal examination.

Reply 11

Daveboi115

Original post by justanotherchica

I think as it stands, the system is well prepped to assess the required standard of pupils at their current level. As discussed by Miss B’, the way the system currently operates allows for enhanced procedural and systematic review of the true ability of an individual to extrapolate, derive and apply information. A skill which is invaluable in academic fields. Knowing and understanding are two separate concepts. If you were to apply a performance based indicator I think there would be a heavy bias on both tail ends of the curve to speak statistically. Those who care less about school will soon realise that that are unable to attain the higher marks due to lower performance in class and will thusly cease to strive. On the opposite side of the spectrum those attaining high marks will rise as those who were distinctly average academically now have an opportunity to gain up to 25% on their baseline marks, from their attendance and perceived effort throughout the year.

On a side note, I think that when people criticise the educational system they always resort to an argument of various forms of intelligence. This is fine however you can’t criticise an educational establishment who’s sole purpose is intellectual drive, on its assessment of the aforementioned. What we should be doing is providing early educational establishment (KS1, 2 and 3) with some system of recognition for those gifted in other areas, and we should be encouraging these individuals to pursue their root gifts. They should not be pressured to accept academic success and the only intelligence. It is the pressure placed on individuals from social bias of intellectual ability that affords education the criticism of bias intelligence schemes.