Do you think the GCSE and A-level reforms were necessary?

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How does this 'suppress talent'?

O levels were harder. GCSEs were gradually made more formulaic, with no originality in the exam questions, hitting rock bottom around about 2009.

Reply 61

astroworld

No I hate Michael Gove
My future is gone in the bin

Reply 62

MeMyselfand I

Original post by peregrine888

O levels were harder. GCSEs were gradually made more formulaic, with no originality in the exam questions, hitting rock bottom around about 2009.

No the past was easier.

Reply 63

Tolgash

Original post by peregrine888

O levels were harder. GCSEs were gradually made more formulaic, with no originality in the exam questions, hitting rock bottom around about 2009.

GCSEs were reformed to become more difficult, although they probably don't meet the standard of rigour that the O-levels possessed. I'm just asking this question because some people, as this thread shows, disagree that these reforms were necessary.

Original post by astroworld

My future is gone in the bin

Not if you revise hard enough.

(edited 5 years ago)

Reply 64

nulli tertius

Original post by Tolgarda

Not if you revise hard enough.

If Astroworld revises harder she won’t hate Michael Gove?

Reply 65

MeMyselfand I

Original post by Tolgarda

Just carry on revising then, in the future it still won't be enough, how much would your children in the future be revising to be enough.
My parents and their friends always said they did less work for their o levels. Less subjects too.

Reply 66

MeMyselfand I

KIds never started at age 3 at nursery before, they do now, is it helping? Well they're learning to follow rules and get shouted at by someone who is frustrated probably and not understanding what they have done wrong for that to happen. So what are thy actually learning here? Not the ABC. Anyway I heard in Europe they start much later and they're still ahead.
See it all depends what you're doing in that classroom. The parents then wonder why their kids come home in bad moods, get bad results in their new GCSEs because theyre harder and get another telling off. Just great. That's when anger develops!
And these rule makers who are making everything harder were once happily playing at the age of 3 or receiving love from
Their mothers at home.
All this has to be taken into consideration.
There will be an angry future generation but they don't care, the poor has to stay in the place, like it has always been.

(edited 5 years ago)

Reply 67

MeMyselfand I

Original post by peregrine888

O levels were harder. GCSEs were gradually made more formulaic, with no originality in the exam questions, hitting rock bottom around about 2009.

They were not harder, how many o levels and cses did your parents do back then? Less of course

Reply 68

Tolgash

Original post by nulli tertius

If Astroworld revises harder she won’t hate Michael Gove?

Oh no, I should have made myself more clear. If they revise hard enough, their future won't go in the bin. I'm going to edit that now.

Original post by MeMyselfand I

Nobody cares. The funny thing here is that even after making things harder, we're probably still much worse than China. The O-levels probably were slightly more difficult. Maybe your friends just did not put enough effort?

Reply 69

kpusa1981

The Olevels by 1986 maybe a total of 60% of pupils took the GCE O-Level and now 95% of pupils The GCSEs were meant for 80 to 90 % to set. The GCSEs may have needed change.
This is how I would have changed the if I had been able to help in the changes:
top 2.5 % Pupils Highest Hon Tier A to E or G (9-1) 30% more material then the Higher Tier
2.5 % Pupils Hon Tier A to E or G (9-1) 30% more material then the Higher Tier
5% of Pupils High Tier A to E or G (9-1) 15% more material then the Intermediate
20% of Pupils Intermediate (high) Tier A to G (9-1) 5% more material then the Intermediate
20% of Pupils Intermediate (Middle) Tier A to G (9-1) 5% more material then the Intermediate
20% of Pupils Intermediate (low) Tier A to G (9-1) 5% more material then the Intermediate
10% Basic Tier A to G (9-1)
OR
33.333% Higher Tier 60% more material then the lowest 11.11% in the Intermediate Tier
33.333% Intermediate Tier 60% more material then the lowest 11.11% then the Basic Tier
33.333 of pupils in the Basic Tier
either way they 10% coursework with presentation and 10% Coursework/controlled coursework with exams 6 to 10 exams through the years 7 to 11
Maths/Physics or Physical Science
Science/Computer Science
MFL
PE or Sport 1 year 4 exams
History
Government/Politics 1 year 4 exams
Geography
English Language & English Lit 4 exams through the 2 years
2 of Art/Dance/Music/Drama/theatre tech so on
2 of 2nd MFL/ Vocational so on

Reply 70

Emma:-)

Entertainment Forum Helper

I think the gcse grades should have stayed as A*, A, B, C etc etc rather than the 1-9 thing.

Reply 71

absolutelysprout

9-1 thing was unncessary in my opinion, but i do think it has prepared me better for a-levels; i'm finding them hard yes, but the jump hasn't been as bad as i thought it had been. my old maths teacher was saying that for the old spec it was easy to get an A* so students in our school struggled a lot with a level maths at first, though that may not be applicable to everybody :dontknow:

i still feel like we were forced to memorise a lot of things rather than understand them, and even if so teaching was driven by passing the exam and nothing else, because that's all that really mattered. the fact that there's a lot of emphasis placed on these exams nowadays isn't helping with stress and mh and all that :sadnod:

Reply 72

Tolgash

Original post by Emma:-)

I think the gcse grades should have stayed as A*, A, B, C etc etc rather than the 1-9 thing.

Original post by entertainmyfaith

9-1 thing was unncessary in my opinion

Why do you think the new nine-point numerical grading scale was unnecessary? It can differentiate superior students at the top end better than the A*-G grading scale could. It also increases the aspirations of students and imparts them with a better work ethic. I think it's a good idea, and I also think it should be brought to A-levels so universities find it easier to discriminate students' ability and separate the wheat from the chaff.

Reply 73

aannoonn

GCSEs definitely needed the reforms. I was in the horrible in between year that did a mixture, and so all the practice materials we had for maths were from the old spec. they were painfully easy.

Reply 74

absolutelysprout

Original post by Tolgarda

i think it's just the lack of clarity over it (though i pretty much get it now.)
and i thought it'd be better if they just added symbols to the letters so + or - but maybe that isn't possible :dontknow:

Reply 75

Tolgash

Original post by entertainmyfaith

There were so many ways it could have been done, but I think this was good enough.

Reply 76

MeMyselfand I

Original post by Tolgarda

At the top end? What about in the middle they dont count?

Reply 77

Tolgash

Original post by MeMyselfand I

At the top end? What about in the middle they dont count?

The middle is also separated with the two new passing grades - the 'standard' pass is a grade 4, and the 'strong' pass being a grade 5.

Reply 78

MeMyselfand I

Original post by Tolgarda

The middle is also separated with the two new passing grades - the 'standard' pass is a grade 4, and the 'strong' pass being a grade 5.

What grade is B- and what grade is B+, can't remember but somethjng was missing

Reply 79

Tolgash

Original post by MeMyselfand I

What grade is B- and what grade is B+, can't remember but somethjng was missing

No. There was already enough differentiation between the intermediate and top grades with the two new passes and an extra grade (grade 9). Making a 6+ and a 6-, or a 6*, or whatever, would be unnecessary.