‘A’ Levels Getting Easier - Office for National Statistics Says
August 6th, 2007 by Stephen
From the Daily Telegraph:
The examinations system is embroiled in a fresh row over “dumbing down” following claims that A-levels are easier than they were 20 years ago. Academics said that pupils capable of getting a C in exams two decades ago can now expect an A grade. Researchers found that on average A-levels for pupils of the same ability improved by two grades between 1988 and 2006. In maths – one of the core subjects – scores increased by more than three grades, it is claimed. The findings, in a report written for the Office for National Statistics, come as thousands of students prepare to receive their examination results week
Are you back? It’s been a while!
I’ve thought for some time that something is up in the education system– and for some reason we have needed to make it easier to get higher grades. It’d be interesting to look back over just 1900-2000 and see if there were some way to tell both what kinds of grades children were getting and what they were learning.
I fear that those that have said that the education system is being dumbed down to turn kids into cattle that can be manipulated may be right.
Hi Min,
I’ve been around - but busier! I haven’t had time to keep up with this blog unfortunately.
Thanks for your comments. Of course, the education children were receiving 100 years ago was very different to the one given now. The focus of these articles on ‘A’ levels isn’t to show that, but to show that there has been grade inflation with an exam that pretends to be comparable over the last 20 years or so.
Some trends in education may be good. Others are quite worrying. One danger is that we generate such a culture of testing of the performance of children and their schools, that we fail to teach them the critical reasoning skills that they will need for later life. Also, we may be trying to shoehorn people with different learning styles and speeds into a single mould.
Haven’t we all!
I agree with you that “teaching to the exam” is an awful way to teach. I think that’s one of my frustrations with traditional schooling in the states, and the way that some states even handle homeschooling.
Tangentially, this is also my problem with some Bible memory programs in churches– where they have kids stuff their heads with short verses right before they’re asked to quote them, and they don’t remember anything after it.
The question is, do you want the kids to really learn the things that you’re teaching, or do you just want them to cram it in and hope they remember something?