Are A levels getting easy or are some people just being a bit sniffy?

Question

It's not like we don't work really hard

Answer 1

Kids nowadays work their butts off.There's been a real push to make kids aware of the importance of a good education and now the competition for University places is fierce so they're all having to pull out all the stops to get into the courses they want.Remember University used to be the preserve of the better off.Working class families are now, not just encouraging but expecting their children to go on to third level education so there has been a real change in attitudes.

One further point,if these kids really were getting dumbed down results, surely it would be reflected in the numbers dropping out of University through not being able to hack it.If that were the case we'd be hearing about it.

Answer 2

I think that in some ways it's harder to work around pretty poor teachers or being in a sink school but I find it absurd to see the high percentages of A's. I wonder how students who can't string a couple of sentences together can manage to pass exams at all.

I was a student in the 60's and  was credited with 5 A's but in subjects that were considered difficult. They were in the sciences, history and mathematics. I was offered a place at Oxbridge but declined to be a nurse instead...we all make mistakes!

I too feel that we should applaud our students like true Brits.

Answer 3

I really don`t know. All i know is that the standard of english has certainly deteriorated. Obviously, there are still younger people who can spell and write well. But, it seems to be the minority. I haven`t sat an exam for years, so it is hard for me to judge. :)

Answer 4

OK then. So WHY dont the TV people make a programe where students of today are made to sit A level papers from 20 years ago???????

Answer 5

I did my A levels in 1989.

I recently took a look at the A level math papers from then, now and somewhere in the middle and tried to do them.

The older papers were definitely harder. The current ones appeared to lead much more. There wasn't really a need to string together more than one solution to get to the end of a problem, because it led you every step of the way.

So in my unscientific study, yes, A levels are getting easy these days.

---

For the unintiated, A levels are "Advanced Level" exams that British schoolchildred take prior to entering college. It generally serves as the exams you have to pass to get a place in college.

Typically (back in the day) you did three. The course took 2 years between ages 16 and 18. Taking 4 was for the swatty spods.

These days this is still true but there are a bunch more options, AS levels and other things.  People seem to be able to take more of them. There is controversy as to whether they have become easier over the years.

Answer 6

A levels are a piece of p**s nowadays.  

Answer 7

theyre so obviously easier you dont really need to ask

people can do 6 and pass them all.  with proper A levels you could only do 3 or 4 max.  you dont need to be sherlock holmes to work it out

Answer 8

Let's take A levels music. You can take it and pass without knowing how to read musical notations. Then look across all the other papers and you will realise that the process of dumbing down is not isolated.

Answer 9

Of course we work hard, but I suspect they probably are "easier" these days, however, the people sniffing at it didn't have to do coursework. People think that the coursework makes it an easy option, I disagree, it means you are tested the whole way through.

2 of the 4 I'm taking are no coursework though.

Answer 10

It is the same old same old, it happens every year. No I don't think they get any easier in fact quite the opposite.

Answer 11

What I've noticed is that teaching gets tinkered with, year in, year out. This is supposedly to improve the teaching.

But instead of saying that it's apparent these changes work when scholars pass more exams, people say that it's because the exams are simpler.

Frankly, it sounds like utter bollocks to me.

If someone can tell me, with a reasonable explanation, what real interest an examination authority would have in simplifying exams, I'd love to know.

I don't believe A levels are getting easier. I believe most teachers are more competent than those who like to knock them would want us to believe.

Edit - Proper Shambos. Done one recently, have you? If not, how the h**l would you know?

Answer 12

I really don't know.  I know someone who is doing history A. Level and is having to do independent research for a sort of mini- dissertation.  We never had to do this.  They also have to use sources alot more and know how to use them.  From what I remember, we just regurgitated what we had learnt and did not have to deal with sources etc. but I don't know about other subjects.    

Answer 13

When I was at school in the sixties, if somebody got five or more A levels, it was very exceptional indeed. You'd get on the front page of the local paper. Honestly!

Answer 14

I have no idea but In any other country they would be proud about the A level results . But not here . Why can't we as a country be proud of the youngs achievements . Instead of looking for ways to bring them down  

Answer 15

I have five A Levels and they aren't outstanding grades. But, I can't help but think if I was doing them now, I'd do better.

And you can get an A Level in pretty much anything, nowadays.

Answer 16

I feel that as a nation we are becoming more intelligently inclined.

Whether this is down to brain power or computer power, I am not sure.

When I went to school, if you took a calculator with you, it got confiscated. Now you can get detention for not taking one (or so I understand from a 12 year old)

The more we learn about the world we live in, the more we have to teach our youngsters, so maybe more computer power adds to more brain power. The way we learn, in my opinion has not changed over the years, we just do it from different angles.

I currently study quantum mechanics, and without computers I would need to live to be 200 to understand it. However, without computers, the subject would not exist.

I say let teachers teach, pupils learn, and politicians keep their noses out.      

Answer 17

People who think exams are too easy, should be made to have a go themselves.  I bet most of them would end up with egg on their faces.

Answer 18

My daughter has just received a letter informing her that she finished in the top 10 in the country for ICT. I saw the amount of hard work she put in to acheive this and I know that she deserved it. I didn't take A levels myself so can't comment on whether they're easier or not but I know I have a wonderful daughter who has worked damned hard.

Answer 19

they lowered the bar to much.

Answer 20

Probably, grade inflation  is  a global(ist) phenomenon. more NWO agenda stuff. That said they seem to demand more course work than before. So the idea seems to be to produce more industrious yet less qualified grads.

Answer 21

my view is that to say that they are becoming easier is putting down students who do work hard and deserve to get good grades

however having said that, the government has an agenda to make more people pass with good grades and get them into tertiary education, so you see a huge increase in the percentage in top grades as compared to say 18 years ago when i did my a-levels - and i;m sorry but i dont believe that people are smarter now than they were then (conversely i dont think that they are less intelligent either)

what they should do (and what I always thought they did) is appoint the top percentile with an A, the next with a B and so on - and keep these percentiles constant over time, so if you receive an A - you can say with pride that you are in the top ten percent for that subject and that is a statistic that employers can understand and equate to.

Unfortunately if you award everyone with top grades and a university education - which seems to be the government policy of inclusivity and not wanting anyone to feel a loser, the whole system is totally devalued.

Which ultimately - is unfair on you as an A level student, because I dont doubt that you do work very hard

Answer 22

If you lot could leave school with the ability to do maths without a calculator and the ability to read and write well, then I wiuld agree that standards are increasing.

However, given that neither of the above is true and the fact that the curriculum board are bringing in a new level (A Star), then I have to believe that the passes are given away.

In fact, the A Star is being introduced so that future employers will be able to determine who really is an "A" student amongst all the dross who are getting it out of a lucky bag.

Answer 23

people chatin sh*t end of story

Answer 24

Maybe a translation for the 99% of the people on here that aren't located on The Sceptred Isle?

Answer 25

THis is a huge irritation to me. Everyone goes on about improving education, improving teachers and when we do, and we perfrom better, suddenly its because they're easy. We can't win. It's the british disease of knocking success with a poorly timed complaint for student who have been working harder than people realise. Many don't realise we are no longer using a quota exam structur like we used to where a certain quota alone got a. Now, if you're good enough, you get an a. And what i this about psychology getting more popular? SO what? Of course it is. It only got more researched 20 years or so again. HUman behaviour is massively important to study. We need subjects like IT to be studied because these students will bw working in 2037 or so and the aquired skills to deal with the type of life we can expct of that age. I think the 14th should rightly be a day of celebration, not scandal just because people are workingharder. Does evryone even realise the  pressure students are under? Their future often depends on a few grades on a piece of paper, and the last thing they want is their achievement to be knockd by the press. DO you really want young people to get the message that this hard work is worthless, meaningless? THis will only teach socity be lazy because your achievents are worthless. This has to stop!