getting scary

by **Steve** Thu Aug 22 2013, 09:34

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-23783094

just show our society are getting dumber... something has to be change with parents bring up kids Sad

it's upto the government to make firm changes which they cant do while we give everyone to many rights

by Guest Thu Aug 22 2013, 09:40

Exams are getting harder as well. A lot of changes have been made to exams recently.

by **Steve** Thu Aug 22 2013, 09:45

they should be hard as possible they are Exams. our kids are falling well below other countries something has to change or our future is looking bleak

by Guest Thu Aug 22 2013, 09:47

It shouldn't be about how hard they are. They're supposed to be a summary of how much information students have taken in during their education. If students aren't taking in the information, the whole picture should be looked at - that includes teaching methods. I've lost count of the amount of times, when I was doing GCSEs, we were left with subtitute teachers who had no idea what they were doing for weeks on end.

by **Steve** Thu Aug 22 2013, 09:52

well yea i think the teacher been getting paid far to much for the crap job they have done over the year under labour

by **Steve** Thu Aug 22 2013, 09:53

but also exams shouldn't be easy so everyone get top grades

by Guest Thu Aug 22 2013, 10:00

I think the good teachers get fair salaries (some of them, at least), but I remember a bunch of teachers who used to get away with so much crap. In A Levels, a teacher actually admitted to me after school that one of the teachers I had in GCSE had signed up to teach, then took 'stress leave' with a signed note from her doctor, so that she could still get paid full wage and not actually teach. I still got an A in the subject, but I had to work about three times as hard to learn the stuff I needed. I think it's disgraceful that a teacher can just go to a doctor, claim that they're stressed, then take the entire year off with full pay.

Another one was my GCSE Art teacher, which I'm still angry about. For the first year, she had us doing a load of coursework which we all tried really hard on. In the second year, she 'left' (was advised to resign), leaving us with another Art teacher. The new Art teacher then told us that the stufff we'd been doing was absolutely useless and that we needed to start over again, fitting two years of work into one. angry

Had to do extra work after school and most of the class still failed.

Music teacher was nice enough and new a lot about music, but was terrible at teaching.

I think the only decent teachers I had were my Biology teacher, who also happens to be my neighbour, and my Art teacher from the second year (mainly because I got to talking with him after I realised he had bull terriers Big Grin

).

by Guest Thu Aug 22 2013, 10:01

Seriously, the exams are far from easy Laughing

Particularly now that AQA English has now removed coursework - the huge essays have to be done during exam time now.

by **jshrew** Thu Aug 22 2013, 10:04

It did seem for years that all the news reports would say how exams were getting easier, so they make them harder are stricter on grading so as you would expect the grades fall.

Scary how long ago I sat mine, but I didn't study for my exams, I work better with course work as oppose to exams and I watched my friends making themselves sick with stress studying for these hour blocks where as I sat back figured I'd learnt what I would need to know. I sat 11 Gcses (took music extra staying behind 2 nights a week) and got 5x B 4x C and 2xD grades and since leaving school I think the only time they have been referred to was to confirm the C or above in Maths and English.

Just been watching the Wright Stuff and teachers calling in to say that kids are writing their answers in text speech! There is just not enough focus on the basic skills that kids need to get through life

by Guest Thu Aug 22 2013, 10:07

Definitely agree with you there! It's unbelievable how many people leave school without having been taught about grammar, punctuation, syntax, etc..

by Guest Thu Aug 22 2013, 15:59

Eleanor wrote:Exams are getting harder as well. A lot of changes have been made to exams recently.

they always say exams are getting harder, but are they really? I don't buy it. Less and less kids give a * these days, I mean if you look at my grades compared to my younger brother and sister, and the kids that took the exams with them compared to when i was at school its a definite down ward slope

by Guest Thu Aug 22 2013, 16:26

They are, though not as much as the people taking them make out. My A Level English teacher marked the exams for a nearby secondary school and confirmed it. Grade boundaries have been put a lot higher.

by Guest Thu Aug 22 2013, 16:28

grade boundaries have always moved, but exams getting harder? nah don't buy it

by Guest Thu Aug 22 2013, 16:32

I am tbh. Even looking at past papers from the AQA website, the ones from five years ago were easy compared to the most recently published ones. If a large number of schools get high percentage exam results, they adjust the exams and grade boundaries.

by **Steve** Thu Aug 22 2013, 16:55

labour and tories are killing our society for the messing around with thing every time they come in power they should change their party name to dumb and dumber be more fitting Smile

by Guest Thu Aug 22 2013, 17:00

Can't argue with that! Laughing

by Guest Thu Aug 22 2013, 17:15

Eleanor wrote:I am tbh. Even looking at past papers from the AQA website, the ones from five years ago were easy compared to the most recently published ones. If a large number of schools get high percentage exam results, they adjust the exams and grade boundaries.

i did mine 9 yeas ago and papers i've seen aren't harder then what i did just a different style

by Guest Thu Aug 22 2013, 17:17

Looks like this'll be an agree to disagree again Smile

by Guest Thu Aug 22 2013, 17:22

Thing is look at it this way when i was at school MY year was the last year to go through middle school before they changed back to primary and secondary schools.

We were always called the 'test' year because our schooling was so messed up that we missed 75% of year 9 due to the fact there wasn't a school for us to go to LITERALLY they weren't built. So we had random classes all over the place, by voluntary teachers and it took a few years to get back to normal.

And yet I still managed to get 2 a*, 5 A's, 2 B's and 3 C's because i worked damn hard to get them, NOT because the exams were easier.

This excuse that exams are getting harder is just that an EXCUSE.

by Guest Thu Aug 22 2013, 17:29

I'm not saying that it means every student is going to fail or pass. It depends how hard you work, simple as. What I'm saying is that the kids aren't entirely to blame. The education as a whole should be looked at. I got high passes on all my GCSEs, but my friend's brother, who worked his rear end off a couple of years ago, failed half. Exams and the syllabus have changed, particularly in the last three years.

by Guest Thu Aug 22 2013, 17:31

Yer they change but this 'getting harder' nah sorry won't and don't buy it.

Not everyone is meant to pass or get good grades, some people will fail no matter how hard they work, i'm afraid that's life

by Guest Thu Aug 22 2013, 17:36

I agree on the second part - whether that's because some people don't do well in exam conditions, don't work hard, the like, I don't know, but I'll admit that I agree there. Also agree that if you work your ar5e off, you've got a better chance.

The thing I'm dubious about is the amount of people going around spouting off that 'kids these days' just aren't trying.

by Guest Thu Aug 22 2013, 17:40

yep some people just can't cope with exam conditions, which is really unfair if they have put the work in just doesn't reflect on them fairly.

Yes kids don't care (not all) but a huge amount of the do NOT care, they do not work towards exams, and if your my brother you don't even turn up for them Rolling Eyes

I see it day in day out, kids would rather dose and expect mummy and daddy to look after them forever then work and achieve something in life

by Guest Thu Aug 22 2013, 17:42

Can't remember exactly when this was, and I'm trying to find a copy of the letter, but a while ago Ofqual released a statement regarding the worry that less students would pass their Science GCSEs, as the exams had been deliberately made more difficult due to the large flow of people entering them the year before. There was an investigation beforehand to figure out why such a large number of people had been passing and apparently the grade boundaries had been found to have been set too low, so those went up by a significant percentage.

by Guest Thu Aug 22 2013, 17:45

Well i got 100% in my science CW and got one of the highest marks in the country so changing the boundaries would of made no difference

Changing boundaries does not mean the exams are harder, just means you need a higher marks/% to get top grades

by Guest Thu Aug 22 2013, 17:46

ella wrote:yep some people just can't cope with exam conditions, which is really unfair if they have put the work in just doesn't reflect on them fairly.

Yes kids don't care (not all) but a huge amount of the do NOT care, they do not work towards exams, and if your my brother you don't even turn up for them :roll:I see it day in day out, kids would rather dose and expect mummy and daddy to look after them forever then work and achieve something in life

Yeah, that's something that bugs me - the people who don't cope get led to believe they're idiots, which quite frankly is a load of nonsense. Honestly trying to tell kids that there's only one way to prove intelligence? Good system!

Eurgh, yikes! I don't have sympathy for people who don't bother or don't try. They're bringing it on themselves. Reminds me of somebody in my year who blamed it all on getting in with the wrong crowd, when I watched him willingly walk out of school grounds during a lesson to have a smoke. Rolling Eyes

by Guest Thu Aug 22 2013, 17:47

ella wrote:Well i got 100% in my science CW and got one of the highest marks in the country so changing the boundaries would of made no difference

Changing boundaries does not mean the exams are harder, just means you need a higher marks/% to get top grades

Not for you it wouldn't because top marks are top marks (over-achiever! Tongues

). But it does make it harder in as much as you have a much narrower target to aim for.

by Guest Thu Aug 22 2013, 17:48

I don't think resits help either. IMO, kids will be less inclined to try hard the first time around if they can blow it off and study for a resit later.

by Guest Thu Aug 22 2013, 17:48

Eleanor wrote:
ella wrote:yep some people just can't cope with exam conditions, which is really unfair if they have put the work in just doesn't reflect on them fairly.

Yes kids don't care (not all) but a huge amount of the do NOT care, they do not work towards exams, and if your my brother you don't even turn up for them :roll:I see it day in day out, kids would rather dose and expect mummy and daddy to look after them forever then work and achieve something in life
Yeah, that's something that bugs me - the people who don't cope get led to believe they're idiots, which quite frankly is a load of nonsense. Honestly trying to tell kids that there's only one way to prove intelligence? Good system!

Eurgh, yikes! I don't have sympathy for people who don't bother or don't try. They're bringing it on themselves. Reminds me of somebody in my year who blamed it all on getting in with the wrong crowd, when I watched him willingly walk out of school grounds during a lesson to have a smoke.

Yer i have loads of sympathy for those who you know tried their hardest and still come out with no or low grades, it just isn't fair!

Nah no sympathy for them either, i say they deserve all they get!

by **Steve** Thu Aug 22 2013, 17:49

we have to remember under labour people who was making the exams was helping the teacher get better grades

by Guest Thu Aug 22 2013, 17:49

Eleanor wrote:
ella wrote:Well i got 100% in my science CW and got one of the highest marks in the country so changing the boundaries would of made no difference

Changing boundaries does not mean the exams are harder, just means you need a higher marks/% to get top grades
Not for you it wouldn't because top marks are top marks (over-achiever! ). But it does make it harder in as much as you have a much narrower target to aim for.

actually i agree with them moving boundaries up i think it gives those who try something higher to aim for!

by Guest Thu Aug 22 2013, 17:50

ella wrote:
Eleanor wrote:
ella wrote:yep some people just can't cope with exam conditions, which is really unfair if they have put the work in just doesn't reflect on them fairly.

Yes kids don't care (not all) but a huge amount of the do NOT care, they do not work towards exams, and if your my brother you don't even turn up for them :roll:I see it day in day out, kids would rather dose and expect mummy and daddy to look after them forever then work and achieve something in life
Yeah, that's something that bugs me - the people who don't cope get led to believe they're idiots, which quite frankly is a load of nonsense. Honestly trying to tell kids that there's only one way to prove intelligence? Good system!

Eurgh, yikes! I don't have sympathy for people who don't bother or don't try. They're bringing it on themselves. Reminds me of somebody in my year who blamed it all on getting in with the wrong crowd, when I watched him willingly walk out of school grounds during a lesson to have a smoke.
Yer i have loads of sympathy for those who you know tried their hardest and still come out with no or low grades, it just isn't fair!

Nah no sympathy for them either, i say they deserve all they get!

But hey, silver lining - the guy who 'got in with the wrong crowd' and failed? He's now working in his mum's burger van, so... Moral right there! Laughing

by Guest Thu Aug 22 2013, 17:51

Eleanor wrote:I don't think resits help either. IMO, kids will be less inclined to try hard the first time around if they can blow it off and study for a resit later.

Definitely agree with you there!

by Guest Thu Aug 22 2013, 17:51

Eleanor wrote:
ella wrote:
Eleanor wrote:
ella wrote:yep some people just can't cope with exam conditions, which is really unfair if they have put the work in just doesn't reflect on them fairly.

Yes kids don't care (not all) but a huge amount of the do NOT care, they do not work towards exams, and if your my brother you don't even turn up for them :roll:I see it day in day out, kids would rather dose and expect mummy and daddy to look after them forever then work and achieve something in life
Yeah, that's something that bugs me - the people who don't cope get led to believe they're idiots, which quite frankly is a load of nonsense. Honestly trying to tell kids that there's only one way to prove intelligence? Good system!

Eurgh, yikes! I don't have sympathy for people who don't bother or don't try. They're bringing it on themselves. Reminds me of somebody in my year who blamed it all on getting in with the wrong crowd, when I watched him willingly walk out of school grounds during a lesson to have a smoke.
Yer i have loads of sympathy for those who you know tried their hardest and still come out with no or low grades, it just isn't fair!

Nah no sympathy for them either, i say they deserve all they get!
But hey, silver lining - the guy who 'got in with the wrong crowd' and failed? He's now working in his mum's burger van, so... Moral right there!

by Guest Thu Aug 22 2013, 17:53

ella wrote:
Eleanor wrote:
ella wrote:Well i got 100% in my science CW and got one of the highest marks in the country so changing the boundaries would of made no difference

Changing boundaries does not mean the exams are harder, just means you need a higher marks/% to get top grades
Not for you it wouldn't because top marks are top marks (over-achiever! ). But it does make it harder in as much as you have a much narrower target to aim for.
actually i agree with them moving boundaries up i think it gives those who try something higher to aim for!

I don't disagree with boundaries being shifted, as long as the right teaching methods are employed to ensure that those who are willing to take it seriously can set themselves a decent target. Like I mentioned earlier, so many of my GCSE teachers took it less seriously than some of the kids. Half of my class didn't know what an adjective was in our first GCSE English Language lesson. Rolling Eyes

by Guest Thu Aug 22 2013, 17:54

Steve wrote:we have to remember under labour people who was making the exams was helping the teacher get better grades

Naughty of me, but I'm not very well up on politics, so I haven't a clue about that Tongues

by Guest Thu Aug 22 2013, 17:55

Eleanor wrote:
ella wrote:
Eleanor wrote:
ella wrote:Well i got 100% in my science CW and got one of the highest marks in the country so changing the boundaries would of made no difference

Changing boundaries does not mean the exams are harder, just means you need a higher marks/% to get top grades
Not for you it wouldn't because top marks are top marks (over-achiever! ). But it does make it harder in as much as you have a much narrower target to aim for.
actually i agree with them moving boundaries up i think it gives those who try something higher to aim for!
I don't disagree with boundaries being shifted, as long as the right teaching methods are employed to ensure that those who are willing to take it seriously can set themselves a decent target. Like I mentioned earlier, so many of my GCSE teachers took it less seriously than some of the kids. Half of my class didn't know what an adjective was in our first GCSE English Language lesson.

haha i know what you mean, my school was quite simply GOD awful, some of my teachers didn't have english as their first language which made lessons fun Rolling Eyes

by Guest Thu Aug 22 2013, 17:56

Unbelievable! I was in a foul mood earlier. This thread has actually cheered me up! Laughing

by Guest Thu Aug 22 2013, 17:57

ella wrote:
Eleanor wrote:
ella wrote:
Eleanor wrote:
ella wrote:Well i got 100% in my science CW and got one of the highest marks in the country so changing the boundaries would of made no difference

Changing boundaries does not mean the exams are harder, just means you need a higher marks/% to get top grades
Not for you it wouldn't because top marks are top marks (over-achiever! ). But it does make it harder in as much as you have a much narrower target to aim for.
actually i agree with them moving boundaries up i think it gives those who try something higher to aim for!
I don't disagree with boundaries being shifted, as long as the right teaching methods are employed to ensure that those who are willing to take it seriously can set themselves a decent target. Like I mentioned earlier, so many of my GCSE teachers took it less seriously than some of the kids. Half of my class didn't know what an adjective was in our first GCSE English Language lesson.
haha i know what you mean, my school was quite simply GOD awful, some of my teachers didn't have english as their first language which made lessons fun

I can imagine that was a setback! A lot of our supply teachers were foreign, but most of the core teachers were fine. Trouble is, whenever somebody complains about it, there's somebody else who pulls out the Racist card. Straight Face

by Guest Thu Aug 22 2013, 18:00

Eleanor wrote:
ella wrote:
Eleanor wrote:
ella wrote:
Eleanor wrote:
ella wrote:Well i got 100% in my science CW and got one of the highest marks in the country so changing the boundaries would of made no difference

Changing boundaries does not mean the exams are harder, just means you need a higher marks/% to get top grades
Not for you it wouldn't because top marks are top marks (over-achiever! ). But it does make it harder in as much as you have a much narrower target to aim for.
actually i agree with them moving boundaries up i think it gives those who try something higher to aim for!
I don't disagree with boundaries being shifted, as long as the right teaching methods are employed to ensure that those who are willing to take it seriously can set themselves a decent target. Like I mentioned earlier, so many of my GCSE teachers took it less seriously than some of the kids. Half of my class didn't know what an adjective was in our first GCSE English Language lesson.
haha i know what you mean, my school was quite simply GOD awful, some of my teachers didn't have english as their first language which made lessons fun
I can imagine that was a setback! A lot of our supply teachers were foreign, but most of the core teachers were fine. Trouble is, whenever somebody complains about it, there's somebody else who pulls out the Racist card.

Oh i know the Racist card well Rolling Eyes

Thankfully my english teacher was english Laughing

by Guest Thu Aug 22 2013, 18:02

Guessing from your comment that you've been accused of it before!

Laughing

Our maths teacher wasn't! Language barrier was so bad, he regularly used to burst into tears and run out.

by Guest Thu Aug 22 2013, 18:08

yep worst time was by my drama teacher, but her english was so bad it was just ridiculous!

I somehow made her burst into tears and we never saw her again, found out she left the country and went back home :O

by Guest Thu Aug 22 2013, 18:12

Shouldn't have been working in a school then!

Ashamed to admit though, that my class was the worst in the school, literally. We didn't keep the same tutor for more than a year and set a record for class reports each week. To be fair, we started off a decent bunch, but the teachers thought that bringing offending students into our class would somehow sort them out, so in the end we had a bunch of idiots in there. Tongues

by Guest Thu Aug 22 2013, 18:16

TBH I was well known by all the teachers at school Rolling Eyes

i certainly wasn't a model student Wink

I was kicked out of school for a month for showing up a teacher who was * on her 'inspection' day thingy

by Guest Thu Aug 22 2013, 18:21

Why'd you get kicked out of school for it? confused

Her own fault for being crap. Tongues

The only teacher I ever really mouthed off to was my Humanities teacher, and that was mainly because she'd been a real cow to my brother and insulted my mum during class. Mum had never even met her, and she still said that mum attacked her! rolling on the floor

by CMR Thu Aug 22 2013, 18:26

Things like health and education should not be cyclicly governed as the MPs hold too short a term views and long highly productive changes are abandoned in exchange for ones that can statisticly fool the voters. The head of education in England should be appointed independently and be encouraged to break away from politics all together.

by Guest Thu Aug 22 2013, 18:33

Eleanor wrote:Why'd you get kicked out of school for it? :-/Her own fault for being crap.

The only teacher I ever really mouthed off to was my Humanities teacher, and that was mainly because she'd been a real cow to my brother and insulted my mum during class. Mum had never even met her, and she still said that mum attacked her!

There wasn't really a reason it was a bit odd, but she was a * teacher and i made that very clear in this lesson in front of her assessor, and she tried turning it on me, and that wasn't going to happen Wink

I was very very confrontational at school and would not take things lying down, and if they were wrong then they would soon know it.

But i embarrassed her and the school so i was excluded indefinitely, so only going in for exams etc

by Guest Thu Aug 22 2013, 18:40

CMR wrote:Things like health and education should not be cyclicly governed as the MPs hold too short a term views and long highly productive changes are abandoned in exchange for ones that can statisticly fool the voters. The head of education in England should be appointed independently and be encouraged to break away from politics all together.

Tbh, I'm not an expert on things like that, so I really wouldn't know what would be best for education in terms of politics.

ella wrote:
Eleanor wrote:Why'd you get kicked out of school for it? :-/Her own fault for being crap.

The only teacher I ever really mouthed off to was my Humanities teacher, and that was mainly because she'd been a real cow to my brother and insulted my mum during class. Mum had never even met her, and she still said that mum attacked her!
There wasn't really a reason it was a bit odd, but she was a * teacher and i made that very clear in this lesson in front of her assessor, and she tried turning it on me, and that wasn't going to happen

I was very very confrontational at school and would not take things lying down, and if they were wrong then they would soon know it.

But i embarrassed her and the school so i was excluded indefinitely, so only going in for exams etc

So... You stood up for yourself and got a holiday in return! Tongues

by Guest Thu Aug 22 2013, 18:46

basically and i had to be escorted from the entrance to the exam and back Wink

bad * here Laughing

by Guest Thu Aug 22 2013, 18:54

An escort? What, did they think you were going to attack the teacher with a machete or something?

by Sponsored content