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These days, we are all hearing about the fact that exams are easier than back in the day, and that too much is being marked on coursework and not enough in the exam. Well, I have just received my GCSE results, and I did very well ( 7 A*s 3 As and a B), and I really do feel hurt that people are saying how much easier exams are nowadays as I feel that it detracts from my personal acheivement and the months of revision and work that went into not only my exams, but my numerous courseworks that have been completed over the past 12 months. Seeing as we have a cross section of ages here at TM, I thought I'd ask for your opinions on wether GCSEs and A levels are easier than they were when you took them.

I did GCSEs a few (4?) years ago and people said the same then. I think it's just a good way for the older genration to feel better about themselves

With those grades though you should just ignore it all. Only people who fail them should be worried.

No, they're not getting easier. I think that a lot of kids these days are willing to put in the hours of work to get good results. In my day (the late Victorian era) most kids just wanted to p*ss around. There were one or two kids who wanted to do well, but the teachers soon managed to beat the enthusiasm out of them.

Things have changed a lot in schools - and probably for the better.

Yes they are easier. But this is due to the question structure and not on the kids knowing less now which is the impresion easier gives.
Remember you can only pass the exam put in front of you. It is not for the kids who have just worked hard to argue this point. The point was originaly raised as the pass rates were used by the government to say how well they had done in education, when in fact all they have been doing is massaging the results/figures. The effect on kids is disgracefull. Kid works hard for years, gets a load of A's only to be told their easy so realy havent worked hard at all. How demeaning is that to someone who has worked flat out for most of his childhood.
The kids work just as hard as ever, there are kids who just don't care and ones who work like crazy, the fact that the average pass rate increases slightly is just down to politics.
The facts are statisicaly that it is impossible to make a maths exam exactly the same level of difficulty as last years. Theres always going to be some slight difference as the questions are different.
It makes little difference in the real world anyway. Instead of needing two b's and a c to get into the next course you now need two a's and a b. So the level is maintained like this. The problem comes from top universitys who have limited places for straight A students. A few years ago students who would have two a's and a b now get three a's, so taking only the very top cream as it were is getting difficult. This is why they want the percentage pass rate to be published aswell.

Just in case you think I am just being 'old and grumpy'. A few years ago I passed a maths and statistics degree, and I know that it was easier than getting a degree a few years before. But what can I do. All I could do was pass the paper put in front of me, and thats what I did.

I think my main concern for the young generation is comunication skills. As seen here on this forum, the youngsters are not being taught the basics. I makes no difference how much you know or can do. If you can't comunicate it properly you may as well not bother.

rant over, except to say well done to all those who worked hard and pushed themselves no matter what grade they acheived

I agree with the Magicwand, It was 11 years ago when I did mine and to be fair there is a lot more focus on them now adays than even when I did mine.

I feel people are willing to put a lot more effort in and spend the time needed to get the good grades. What I do feel is a better than a few years ago are the selection of courses available are more varied with courses such as media studies etc. Now I'm not saying that media is neccessrily an easy course but a 100% pass rate at A-level? You telling me not one kid fails it out of the whole spectrum of people who sit it?

The other odd thing I find is and I don't understand, I went to a Grammar School so I guess quite strict on the education front (I won't say which but its in the top 100 schools in the country) and I did 9 GCSEs which was one more than any other school in the same area. Now adays kids seem to be doing about 11-12 as the average. Do pupils spend more time in class?

Fantastic results, its hard work you deserve all the credit and you should certainly go far! I take it A-levels Uni and the world is your oyster after than!

They have been saying the same thing for 15 years. There is however, more than just gcse's that can be taken at schools now, which has helped towards to improved statistics.

Even if you have taken the same level of qualification twice, it is still very difficult to say whether they are easier as your intelligence will have increased over the years and if you take a qualification later on in life, you are more likely to work harder for it (perhaps because the beer and women thing is out of your system).
The way subjects are taught is very different to the previous generation, as students now have to apply their knowledge more. So even if their knowledge base is not as deep as previous generations, perhaps they know what to do with it more. And more people stay in than ever before.
And don't forget that this generation are the most examined generation ever. There is so much pressure put on young people today. Granted, many don't care, but its always been like that. For those that do, I don't envy them, and they deserve the grades they achieve.

There is the argument that generations are getting more intelligent:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flynn_effect

I'm not so sure, but if you think about it, with the advent of the internet, we are now in the information age, and I definately are more knowledgable because of it.

Finally, as a teacher, my belief is that the teaching has just got better! Teachers are far more accountable these days. We are forever being observed, assessed, performance managed and ofsteded. Quite stressful really, and only one more week of my hols left.

When I did my O-levels, most of them had 2 three-hour exams in which you usually picked, say, five out of nine or three out of seven questions to answer, and then poured out what you knew for marks. Hence, we had to learn to retain and apply knowledge. I did 11 (including 4 CSEs) and got 9 (including 2 CSE grade 1s), which means I must have spent the best part of three weeks sitting written exams. Then it was over. The emphasis now seems to have shifted to coursework. That's fine by me as long as it has to come together in a final exam too, to show that the knowledge is retained and can be applied on demand. After all, an exam is really about finding what you don't know, not what you do.

I think there's a few unknowns we need values for in the pass rate figures. Pass rates are going up. So, is it that the number of kids getting pass marks is also going up (meaning that the average pass per pupil is constant), or are the same number of kids getting more passes? How big is the pool of kids each year. Are the kids who are unlikely to pass not being put in for them?

I think there's a few unknowns we need values for in the pass rate figures.

And their are GCSe's, GNVQ's (4 gcse's) and BTEC's(4 gcse's) within those statistics. Whereas in the past it was just O'levles/gcse's.

I don't know. I took mine in '79 and haven't done any more since

Really - how can you actually tell if they are getting easier unless you re-sit them every few years as a measure?

I think that it's a pointless question and argument anyway - once you've done them then that's usually it! If you've put the levels of study and work in to getting a good grade then good for you but get on with life afterwards and focus on the next challenge.

dat8962 wrote:I don't know. I took mine in '79 and haven't done any more since

Really - how can you actually tell if they are getting easier unless you re-sit them every few years as a measure?

I think that it's a pointless question and argument anyway - once you've done them then that's usually it! If you've put the levels of study and work in to getting a good grade then good for you but get on with life afterwards and focus on the next challenge.

well, there are a few ways of forming an opinion on this. If you have children of that age, then you ask how their exams are going, how the papers are etc. That, coupled with you knowing their intellectual ability should give you a roundabout picture of the difficulty of their exams. Perhaps it does seem pointless to you, but it can be quite hard for people like myself who use this forum, and who, for the last 5 years have had the letters GCSE shoved down their throats at any given opputunity, to simply move on". I'm sure that when I return to my sixth form that I'll forget and "move on", but until then I dont think I will be. Lastly, I thought this question would be apprpriate seeing that we always get articles in the paper at this time of year relating to this sort of thing, and I thought it would be interesting to hear different peoples opinions on the matter.......

Have these old guys ever considered that maybe the education system has just got better?

The teachers are better at teaching?

Students are better at learning? (Must be all those harry potter books)

They always put young people down!!!!

I dont know if the exams are getting eaiser but i doubt it. Just old people thinking of reasons to pick on young people.

Perhaps it does seem pointless to you, but it can be quite hard for people like myself who use this forum, and who, for the last 5 years have had the letters GCSE shoved down their throats at any given opputunity, to simply move on". I'm sure that when I return to my sixth form that I'll forget and "move on", but until then I dont think I will be. Lastly, I thought this question would be apprpriate seeing that we always get articles in the paper at this time of year relating to this sort of thing, and I thought it would be interesting to hear different peoples opinions on the matter.......

I don't think that Dat was knocking your achievements. He was just suggesting that now you have finished your GCSE's, as long as you achieved enough to get you to where you want to go next, then don't fret. If you are going to do A levels, your GCSE's (with the exception of maths and English) will be forgotten about. Once you get to degree level and professional qualifications, then (with a few exceptions) A levels and GCSE's are forgotton about.

I wasn't knocking anyones achievements and I take my hat off to anyone that achieves something that they set out to do.

Cymru wrote:

well, there are a few ways of forming an opinion on this

I totally agree and that was mine

If you have children of that age, then you ask how their exams are going, how the papers are etc. That, coupled with you knowing their intellectual ability should give you a roundabout picture of the difficulty of their exams.

I have, and most people with Children of this age realise that the exams that they are taking at GCSE level are not comparrable with the ones that we took all of those years ago. The intellect of our youngsters and checking their progress, particularly in the coe subjects is of course important but this doesn't always relate to exam results.

but it can be quite hard for people like myself

A fair point and one that I appreciate. Think of it this way and from the other end, how can you say if the exam that you have recently taken is any harder or easier than the exams that your friends took two years ago? It's just too difficult to guage and that's the point I was tring to make. Unless you are an acedemic who is marking papers, setting questions, teaching subjects etc. perhaps won't be able to make a competant judgement.

for the last 5 years have had the letters GCSE shoved down their throats at any given opputunity

Yep, we've all been there Think of it this way - it shows that people care.

I'm sure that when I return to my sixth form that I'll forget and "move on", but until then I dont think I will be.

No - forget everything for now and then revisit your grades when you go back to your sixth form. You've got what you got and until you get back to your education next term, chill out and enjoy the time space. Many of us older ones would give a lot to have six weeks off for practicing magic. What we would give to being able to go back to being 17 is...........

Lastly, I thought this question would be apprpriate seeing that we always get articles in the paper at this time of year relating to this sort of thing, and I thought it would be interesting to hear different peoples opinions on the matter.......

And that's what you hopefully got

Benji wrote

Have these old guys ever considered that maybe the education system has just got better?

Now there is a good point!

Just old people thinking of reasons to pick on young people

Now there's a blow below the belt! The majority of older people are equally concerned about the quality of education that their children are receiving and I don't see it as picking on young people as opposed to the system. Youngsters always feel that they're being picked on and in 20 years time you'll realise that things are actually different.

I sound like my dad which I swore I never would

After re-reading the posts and your respnse, I apologise if I came across as rude or unpleasant. There are two sides to every coin and we were both coming from different sides. We both made valid points and I can appreciate your argument as I'm sure you can appreciate mine.
sorry once again and thanks for contributing to this thread.

dat8962 wrote

I sound like my dad which I swore I never would

that sounds like my dad too, he was'nt the local milkman was he?