should there be A+ and A++ grades

[wheresmyplacebo]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/3753552.stm

interesting article

i say not, only 20% of a levels last year may have been As but there are other factors like what subjects did they take etc

and personally more importantly if someones got an A it shows they have done amazingly well still, but for going university specific subject knowledge isnt that applicable as to do law they prefer people doing history rather than law, and in subjects like chemistry which i do, the medium-hardest stuff of my a level was covered when i went back, they just expected more logical thinking

the only difference between 80% and 90% other than 10% marks, is exam technique and luck of the draw on questions etc etc

[MrG]

Adding A+ and A++ would just be the same as making an F and G grade at a level

[xmizzcattyx]

i dont think so

[MrG]

yes it would

cause then you could make the A a higher percentage

and get the F & G grades taking up the lower percentages, in the end your still ending up with an increase of two possible grades

[ShyBoy]

Originally posted by MrG
yes it would

cause then you could make the A a higher percentage

and get the F & G grades taking up the lower percentages, in the end your still ending up with an increase of two possible grades

can't be sure, but i think the person you were replying to was responding the original question

anyway, in my opinion, hell no. An A is an A for a reason. It's the best you can get, if you've got an A in a subject you're obviously good at it. If you have A+ and A++ you are making people who just got an A feel stupid, when in fact they are really good.

Are they planning to lower the threshold for a simple A grade or split the A grade into three sections? If they do split it there's too much room for luck etc, because there'll only be a few marks in it.

[panda eyes]

just leave a the top grade and go down from their

[dr_carter]

Why can't they just take it all the way down from A to G? Oh, and if you want to make people feel confident about their exam grades, stop moaning about the fact they're getting easier so soon after the results. I know how I felt after working as hard as I did, then reading the paper and hearing all the crap about how easy it is to pass exams these days.... it makes you wonder why you bothered.

[MrG]

Originally posted by xmizzcattyx
i dont think so

apologies if i went off at you there but it wasnt clear who you were referring to with the thread been this far gone

[ShyBoy]

Apparently they are getting easier though, but it doesn't mean we aren't getting brighter. In relative terms for our generation, we find it easier to get better grades. But the standard of the work is better anyway, so if someone from 30 years ago went through it now they might not acheive as well.

Although O-Levels were actually quite good for some subjects (like maths). I prefer A-Levels, though I don't think GCSEs prepare you as well for them. I think it should be the same type of exams all the way through rather than a general certificate of secondary education, an advanced level, and all the others :confused:

[dr_carter]

Question - why do people still insist that SATs are serious exams, and use it for arguments that you have four sets of serious exams in five years of schooling, being KS3 SATs, GCSEs, AS and A2?

[FireFly85]

I think perhaps an A and then an A+ would be good with A levels, just for the sake of the people who do *extremely* well. For example in all my subjects overall you only had to get 480 out of 600 to get an A, but I think there is a big difference between getting like 482 and getting an A and getting 590-600 and getting an A. To get full marks or close to full marks in all of your modules deserves some recognition I think, because its pretty damn amazing.

[MrG]

because they marked out as exams that asses how clever a kid is, and a kid that does them is under pressure not to appear more stupid than his classmates

thats enough pressure for an impressionable kid

[dr_carter]

I didn't bother doing any revising, I lamely ticked a few boxes and went to sleep during my KS3s. I just didn't give a shit. Ended up with 666 though. Normally they use these for putting students into sets, but I wrote a letter to my head of year explaining that I wasn't going to be used as a pawn for the government to explain that the exams are getting easier, and she only said she was sorry she couldn't withdraw me from the lot. The head wouldn't allow her.

[MrG]

Originally posted by dr_carter
I didn't bother doing any revising, I lamely ticked a few boxes and went to sleep during my KS3s. I just didn't give a shit. Ended up with 666 though. Normally they use these for putting students into sets, but I wrote a letter to my head of year explaining that I wasn't going to be used as a pawn for the government to explain that the exams are getting easier, and she only said she was sorry she couldn't withdraw me from the lot. The head wouldn't allow her.

government doesnt use the tests to put kids into sets, they just use it to check the school is doing as well as expected

its the school that use it as a bi-product to put you in sets

not only am i laughing at you for getting the wrong end of the stick, if you were serious there im pissing myself cause dear god im gonna stop now.........

[dr_carter]

Originally posted by MrG
government doesnt use the tests to put kids into sets, they just use it to check the school is doing as well as expected

its the school that use it as a bi-product to put you in sets

not only am i laughing at you for getting the wrong end of the stick, if you were serious there im pissing myself cause dear god im gonna stop now.........

Hmm... I am aware that it's the school that uses them to put me into sets. I thought I made that clear. I wrote a letter explaining that I wasn't bothering with the exams, and they just used the Teacher Assessment grades and put me in the top sets anyway.

[MrG]

how old were you at the time?

im surprised they didnt just ask you to nicely, or perhaps just tell you to sod off

[dr_carter]

Originally posted by MrG
how old were you at the time?

im surprised they didnt just ask you to nicely, or perhaps just tell you to sod off

14, and having grown up with teachers for parents, I understood how much bollocks they are.

[MrG]

i can tell why you hate certain groups of people so much, you appear to dislike your parents alot

now we have surpassed the hatred of women stage, lets move onto teachers

take it away with your rant dr carter

[dr_carter]

Originally posted by MrG
i can tell why you hate certain groups of people so much, you appear to dislike your parents alot

now we have surpassed the hatred of women stage, lets move onto teachers

take it away with your rant dr carter

Are you stupid or something? When did I say I didn't like teachers? Some are lazy arses, but they are few and far between. Most are overworked, underpaid and underappreciated for all the hard work and dedication to children they show. I don't hate women, and how dare you even suggest I dislike my parents.

[MrG]

Originally posted by dr_carter
14, and having grown up with teachers for parents, I understood how much bollocks they are.

nuff said on that

as for the women
http://vbulletin.thesite.org.uk/showthread.php?s=&threadid=69848

"add it all together, along with sexually overcharged little shits running around trying to boost their egos, and the modern tendancy of girls to try and get pregnant so that they can claim housing benefit and child benefit, and it all seems to make much more sense

what's more, they know all of their rights and none of their responsibilities

you should be happy that there's a high abortion rate - are these the sort of people we want as the parents of tomorrow's children?"

[dr_carter]

The bollocks was referring to SATs, not teachers.

There is a difference between women and the youth of today.

[MrG]

Originally posted by dr_carter
The bollocks was referring to SATs, not teachers.

There is a difference between women and the youth of today.

that was a thread you stirred a lot of problems up with

and i dont see the difference, respectable women and what you will no doubt refer to as trash are both female

[dr_carter]

Originally posted by MrG
that was a thread you stirred a lot of problems up with

and i dont see the difference, respectable women and what you will no doubt refer to as trash are both female

Granted. However, whilst I would cut both of my testicles off with a spoon before i went out with a girl with orange fake tan, bleached blonde hair, a mini-skirt and too much breast hanging out, does not mean I hate all women. I merely am not attracted to this particular 'type' of girl.

A woman is an adult female. People like this are normally girls.

[Olive]

Originally posted by dr_carter
Ended up with 666 though.

all my suspicions are confirmed.

I think there is a big difference between getting like 482 and getting an A and getting 590-600 and getting an A.

totally agree. this is why the A* was introduced in GCSEs - to mark out truly exceptional candidates. only these days they give them out to any old bollocks.

say on a paper where 50% is an A grade mark. do you think that someone who gets 50% deserves the same grade as someone who gets 99% or 100%? i don't.

but then i'm all for shifting grade boundaries up.

[dr_carter]

Originally posted by kaffrin
all my suspicions are confirmed.


You know precisely what I meant. Don't be rude.

[LabRat]

Yes, there should be A+++, A**, A+(A*B)/C, J, P, Q, W, WW, X and Y^Z grades! And kids will get much more educated!
This totalitarian style of thought is a real puzzle for me. Why can’t every school, every college, every university, every teacher have its own standards? Why not to abolish this stupid grade system at all? How can people believing in freedom, pluralism and diversity in such not important areas as race, nation, political opinions, life-style preferences, sexual orientation etc., be so enthusiastic in coercive hierarchy, uniformity, standardisation in such important area as education and mind building, that is Self-Construction?

[wheresmyplacebo]

Originally posted by LabRat
Yes, there should be A+++, A**, A+(A*B)/C, J, P, Q, W, WW, X and Y^Z grades! And kids will get much more educated!
This totalitarian style of thought is a real puzzle for me. Why can’t every school, every college, every university, every teacher have its own standards? Why not to abolish this stupid grade system at all? How can people believing in freedom, pluralism and diversity in such not important areas as race, nation, political opinions, life-style preferences, sexual orientation etc., be so enthusiastic in coercive hierarchy, uniformity, standardisation in such important area as education and mind building, that is Self-Construction?

how would you know if the persons qualification reaches a certain standard, unless you test them all individually

personally having mroe 'A' grades just devalues it further, as everyone who works for As at the moment will work for A+++++++ or whatever

if more people are getting As cause they better at the exams, make the exams harder - but even that isnt so simple as in my college people who got Cs and Ds were happy.

and yet another point i was checking out the % for individual subjects over the years and in sceince and maths the amount of As has been increasing most, this is mainly cause of fact indecisive people arent taking it anymore so only people into it take it.... the statistics can be seen in so many ways

if you dont want people who cant read write and do sums correctly - then improve 7-14 education thats when its taught

[Olive]

Originally posted by dr_carter
You know precisely what I meant. Don't be rude.

i was referring to the fact that you appear to the the spawn of satan, which was obviously a joke.

get off your high horse.

[stargalaxy]

I'm getting thoroughly fed-up of constantly reading in the press these stories of how the education system is going to be overhauled again and again. Politicians are treating students and pupils like guinea pigs.