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There are lots of different reasons for why exams appear to be getting easier. One is that some schools, for the sake of the league tables, do things like a four-GCSE ICT qualification. That sort of thing is very easy and doesn't really have more worth than the one-GCSE version. This means people are passing more GCSEs than they were, but the GCSEs count for less.
However, it's inaccurate to say that GCSEs are getting easier every year. Looking at past papers in Maths, for example, the 2005 paper was easier than the 2006 paper, which in turn was harder than the 2007 paper. The grade boundaries are set differently to allow for this. This does allow for some tweaking, but it doesn't happen as much as some newspapers would imply!
In terms of sciences, the obvious thing to note is that what current GCSE students are learning is unlike what their parents were because there have been more developments in science! However, there has recently been a change in the syllabus - affecting the students who will be getting their GCSEs next year - which most science teachers agree is much easier than the previous syllabus. The ones at my school are actually quite irritated because they feel it doesn't prepare students adequately for A-level...
...where there's going to be another change in the syllabus - I think across the whole curriculum - which is definitely going to make things easier.
However, results from older people - especially as far as universities are concerned - are far from worthless, as most employers are aware of what people have learned according to when they left school. The current year 11 are perhaps more likely to get jobs etc than next year as they will avoid the curriculum changes that universities know will mean students haven't learned as much for the same grades.
I don't think they do - have you tried answering any of this years or last years GCSE questions?
I think it's because of the increased pressure put on kids by parents and teachers that results have improved so much.
Well, you should not feel that your efforts were worthless...the saying "What is worth doing, is worth doing well" applies here...I think...getting an easy good grade is nothing...working hard for a good grade is the most important think...I suppose...
I think they are getting harder to be honest and that people are just working harder.
For my AS levels I got two E's, a D and a C even though I worked my *** off and I was so disappointed, and the real exam was so much harder than the mock.
And for GCSE I got four B's and 6 C's, so my grades have gone down. I got a B in GCSE english, I got a C as level, I got a B in GCSE ICT, I got a D in as level ICT.
But we've got loads of pressure on us because the college I go to is like "You have to go to University when you leave" and half the universities in england ask for BBB or higher and if you don't get into uni it seems like the end of your life because you've worked so hard for the past two years [literally wasted 2 years of your life] you don't feel like you have the time or energy to resit your alevels and get into Uni.
I think adults should take them and see how they do.
Well when i was at school, only a genius would have done more than 3 A-levels; Yet now kids not only take 5 or even 6, they get top grades. It's not rocket science to work out what's going on here!
I looked at a gcse Maths paper and an English paper, they reminded me of the exam I took to get into my school at age 11
no. have people actually thought for one moment that maybe people are actually doing better in exams? that actually maybe all this money your paying into taxes to improve education, and all these government initiatives to improve education is actually paying off.
oh for heavens sake! people stop going on about it, we dont ask to take those exams, nor do we ask for them to be easier! fact is we cat help it we still have to take the exams anyway so just give it a rest!
No, they do not. Your teacher is correct in saying that the percentages are tweaked; what that really means is that the grade boundaries are shifted according to how many people do well or poorly. Lots of people getting 90% means the A grade boundary is set to say 95% and those at 90% get a B. Crafty work just to keep a nice statistical appearance to the figures. What needs to be remembered is that an E (A Level) is a pass and I'm afraid not a very good one. F at GCSE is a Pass. So, with more people going in for exams, obviously the pass rate will appear to increase! even tough many of these passes are poor. The results this year reflect a lot of hard work by students, teachers and tutors. Don't be misled by people who really just do not understand what they are talking about. Pat
actually it is the younger you are that makes results the more worthless .Oh and the answer to your question is yes..
Don't know, I think it depend's how you view the question. To me GCSE's appear more difficult than in my school day's!.
They are not getting easier...schools are working harder at preparing kids for how to pass exams and get higher grades, instead of the original way of actually teaching the subject!! (I am a gcse exam invigilator)
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