monasqueen Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 Once again, we have news items congratulating the many who have been successful in their GCSE exams, and I do not wish to take anything away from any of those who are currently celebrating their success. IOM Today has an article that says the pass rate this year is 98.5% (in the UK it was 98.6%). How much (or how little) do the 1.5% who fail actually put on their papers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Educa Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 I think the grade boundary is very wide, so to "pass" you need something like E - is that right? I think that is daft if so! Surely A-D should constitute a pass - so the pass rate is inflated, if E is taken into account... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In fact . . . Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 I think the grade boundary is very wide, so to "pass" you need something like E - is that right? I think that is daft if so! Surely A-D should constitute a pass - so the pass rate is inflated, if E is taken into account... A-C was supposed to be equivalent to an O-level. That's a proper pass. D-? Was a CSE (although CSE grade 1 was, officially, as good as an O-level grade C). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wazir Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 Can I just say that it's been a long time since I took my final exams and even then people were saying that it's easier this year than ever before. And now we, the grown-ups, are saying the same of the next generations. I found it offensive at the time because of the amount of work I had put into it which the media and moaners in general undermined because it's an easy target. "Straight As, well everyone gets that these days?" I think that regardless of the incompetence or otherwise of the exam setters or markers it's worth noting that a lot of kids worked very hard and deserve the grades they got and this sort of thing only demotivates them and denigrates academia generally (down with this sort of thing). *steps off soapbox* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBloodyNine Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 The thing that gets me with the current bumper crop of exam grades is that surely there comes a point when an A is worthless. If it gets to a point where the kids are so smart and teaching so good that every gets them then what is the point? I’m not trying to say that the exams are getting easier, but it seems that they are from the outside. Surely there must be a point when they have to start making them harder to make the grading mean something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cambon Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 According to someone who got their results yesterday, A*-G is considered a pass. The only other score is a U. Specific person said she had no idea about the ICT exam as it was about spreadsheets that she new nothing about. She blagged her way through and got a D. She was expecting a U. In her own words she said "in order to get a U, you must have to hand in an empty sheet with your name spelt wrongly. It seems that the exams are not necessarily easier, but the passing mark is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monasqueen Posted August 28, 2009 Author Share Posted August 28, 2009 .. a lot of kids worked very hard and deserve the grades they got and this sort of thing only demotivates them and denigrates academia generally Read my question. I am not trying to denigrate/demotivate. I just want to know what the criteria are for failing the exams, which apparently 1.5% of entrants did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian rush Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 The thing with grade inflation or the general improvement in exam passing (whatever may be the cause) is that it becomes that much more difficult to work out who the sharp knives actually are when interviewing or when universities are alloting places on courses etc.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tugger Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 I don't think it matters whether something is considered a "pass" or not, as long as the grades are sensible. Getting an E would have failed you in my day, but making it a grade E pass, rather than a grade E fail, gives a potential employer just as much information about a candidate's ability (if not more, in fact). The grade inflation allegation is a more serious one, and I do believe that it goes on, if only because it is in so many people's interests that exam candidates should be seen to do well. It has been going on for some time - I remember looking at some A level papers from the 70s (I sat mine in the mid 80s) and thinking that I simply wouldn't have been able to do them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Roo Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 Can I just say that it's been a long time since I took my final exams and even then people were saying that it's easier this year than ever before. And now we, the grown-ups, are saying the same of the next generations. Is'nt that just life in general!!! The older generation has always put the younger generation down for everything, It didnt happen in my day. Take fashion for instance....The older croanies never like or approve of anything. Quite sad really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith brief Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 Following on from Ian Rush, Rush, Rush's comments, if everyone is passing, what exactly are the examinations measuring? On this basis, Lewis Hamilton can drive and so can I so therefore I should be an F1 driver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In fact . . . Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 Is'nt that just life in general!!!The older generation has always put the younger generation down for everything, It didnt happen in my day. Take fashion for instance....The older croanies never like or approve of anything. Quite sad really. What year did you do English O-level or GCSE? If you passed, we have some evidence on which to base some real analysis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Roo Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 Is'nt that just life in general!!!The older generation has always put the younger generation down for everything, It didnt happen in my day. Take fashion for instance....The older croanies never like or approve of anything. Quite sad really. What year did you do English O-level or GCSE? If you passed, we have some evidence on which to base some real analysis. Sorry i did'nt realise this was an exam and i was being graded or is it just an excuse to get me in the stock room to feel your dick! I am a girl though....not a boy!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Toad Of Toad Hall Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 I personally would not class a grade less than a C as a GCSE pass. Why is a grade as appalling as a G even classed as one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wazir Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 I personally would not class a grade less than a C as a GCSE pass. Why is a grade as appalling as a G even classed as one? Classes as a pass by whom? Surely from a position of discrimination based on ability (which it appears you, like me, are in favour of) the greater the level of passes the better. Look at it this way. Your proposed system (that of A, B, C, fail) allows us to see the following groupings of entrants: A - excellent B - good C - satisfactory anything else - Plebeian Under a system with a greater number of passes (such as the current system) you are able more effectively to group the plebs so as to more efficiently distribute the unfortunately necessary tasks which are the office of the lower classes without which we would not enjoy this civilized existence. Otherwise how will you know which plebs would be best for say being your butler and which would only be useful as say your gardeners? As the condescending anurian you no doubt are, you must be able to see the merits of further subjugating the lowers orders? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.