A-level exam facebook protest
- Thread starter Nitefly
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By that stage if you are taking a subject you should be interested enough to read around it and be able to answer most questions in general.
Problem is that the students are revising what they have been told to, the teachers need to get the students more engaged in wanting to UNDERSTAND, not regurgetate their subject.
Problem is that the students are revising what they have been told to, the teachers need to get the students more engaged in wanting to UNDERSTAND, not regurgetate their subject.
Some of the pictures on the group are hilarious!
******* shrews
Ironically, there were no questions on shrews, only questions which related to shrews which dealt with experimental design.
I don't think I've come across so many pompous, arrogant people in one place.
I'd love to see how some of these people would fair in three A-Level exams if they sat them this summer.
A lot of A-levels are FAR from easy. Maths, Chemistry, Physics especially. Too many people read the Daily Mail too much on here.
I'd love to see how some of these people would fair in three A-Level exams if they sat them this summer.
A lot of A-levels are FAR from easy. Maths, Chemistry, Physics especially. Too many people read the Daily Mail too much on here.
You're right, but you've also quoted the only three that are remotely hard.
I feel sorry for anyone that worked closely to the specification and still doesn't feel the exam went well.
My main Biology teacher hammered on home the importance of the specification. The AQA Textbook had the topics listed in the specification, so it would be odd if people felt the exam was not linked.
HOWEVER I feel sorry for people like me who did that exam, and have Chemistry tomorrow, and Physics the day after
Even worse if someone is unfortunate enough to also be taking Psychology, which is examined on Friday!
My main Biology teacher hammered on home the importance of the specification. The AQA Textbook had the topics listed in the specification, so it would be odd if people felt the exam was not linked.
HOWEVER I feel sorry for people like me who did that exam, and have Chemistry tomorrow, and Physics the day after
Even worse if someone is unfortunate enough to also be taking Psychology, which is examined on Friday!
It's not being pompous at all. The thread is highlighting that people are always saying to today's children are spoon fed, then along comes an examination which can't be aced by memorising nuggets of information, and of all people the students complain!
And pretty well I'd imagine, but I would be at a slightly unfair advantage of having a degree in biology...
A levels are usually the gap from School to uni...most people don't take them because their highly interested in that particular subject, but because a chosen degree requires them to, or because it may give them a higher chance at getting chosen.
Not to mention having to take 3-4 subjects.
and nightfly, I'm not sure about the AQA one, but the fact that we were shown what type of questions we would expect (given to us by exam board) then them throw completley different questions at us isn't fair.
In many of your eyes, you blame the students. But how can the exam board justify telling us what we should expect (and telling teachers) then throwing something totally different.
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I sat the OCR one as mentioned above too this week and it did seem to have a lot of suggest type questions which is unusual, saying that though it is a new lot of exams this year so past papers aren't really comparable but the specimen paper for this exam looked just like an old style one, with a large question where you have to fully describe something like the Calvin cycle for example. I actually think the paper should be longer, not just in terms of time given but for more questions, I think it would be fairer if more of the modules in the unit were covered and there was a greater variety of questions. Instead it's a bit of luck involved with which topics will pop up.
I think the facebook group is being taken a bit seriously, you know what groups are like nowadays the vast majority probably just joined it for the lulz, and a lot of the comments are just the typical post exam moaning which always happens.
I do find the whole attitude from people who have already done their A levels that todays A levels are stupidly easy quite funny, I'm aware of grade inflation and how people take subjects like media to get some UCAS points is quite naff, but from seeing past papers over the last decade they don't see too different really, and the UMS weighting is adjusted depending on how well everyone does anyway. I find it particularly amusing when it's people in their mid 20s saying it too, I guess the average person had supreme levels of intellect 5-10 years ago, far greater then I can ever hope to comprehend .
I think the facebook group is being taken a bit seriously, you know what groups are like nowadays the vast majority probably just joined it for the lulz, and a lot of the comments are just the typical post exam moaning which always happens
.I do find the whole attitude from people who have already done their A levels that todays A levels are stupidly easy quite funny, I'm aware of grade inflation and how people take subjects like media to get some UCAS points is quite naff, but from seeing past papers over the last decade they don't see too different really, and the UMS weighting is adjusted depending on how well everyone does anyway. I find it particularly amusing when it's people in their mid 20s saying it too
, I guess the average person had supreme levels of intellect 5-10 years ago, far greater then I can ever hope to comprehend .
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I sat the paper, and joined the group, but left when the name changed (originally it had a humerous name referring to a question). I found the exam very different to what I expected, however it wasn't as bad as everyone made out (I like the application style questions).
That question on seals was brilliant. It went like this:
This is a seal.
*picture of a seal*
This is a seal above water.
*picture of seal poking its head out of the water*
This is a seal underwater.
*Picture of a seal underwater*
How do seals stay underwater for so long?
And to be honest, it wasn't a really taxing paper at all. I could see what the exam board were looking for whenever they threw curve balls like that.
Aye, I didn't actually find it hard. I was more P'd off that all that revision was for nothing. I could've answered those questions by just glancing over the book a few weeks back.
That damn seal was so patronising...
seriously, needed a WHOLE page for a picturebook of a seal.
I can iamgine what a seals head looks like when it's out of the water (Yeah I know they were trying to show the nostrils + ears)...I was shocked to discover what seals look like underwater.
Thank you OCR! Thumbs up to you!
That damn seal was so patronising...
seriously, needed a WHOLE page for a picturebook of a seal.
I can iamgine what a seals head looks like when it's out of the water (Yeah I know they were trying to show the nostrils + ears)...I was shocked to discover what seals look like underwater.
Thank you OCR! Thumbs up to you!
This thread is being pompous, in places, as much as it's, "highlighting that people are always saying today's children are spoon fed."
Whilst I'm aware that there plenty of relatively pointless A-levels, these are recognised to be easier by the Universities. You're not going to Oxford or Cambridge, for example, with three A's in Home-ec., General Studies and Business Studies.
It really boils my **** when I see people just casually claiming A-levels are getting easier, no doubt to make themselves feel better for not doing as well as they should have done and feeling a bit jealous. That said, I know plenty of people who's daily routine was to work, eat a bit and sleep a bit. They shouldn't be dragged down into that category.
When these exams are essentially paving a path for a successful or unsuccessful career, the pupils are taught to pass the exam. To get 80-90% in one of these is as hard as it's ever been and you DO need to show some initiative, especially in essay-based subjects.
The syllabus is there for a reason; to tell the candidate what they're going to be tested on. If they've been examined on something that isn't there, at the most stressful and pivotal time in their academic lives so far, I think it's only fair to let them be ****ed off a bit.
To be fair maths, chemistry and physics arent exactly difficult, did my A levels 2 years ago and it seems the maths and chemistry papers have got easier from what my brothers been saying whose currently sitting them.
That exam certainly doesn't look like something to complain so massively about.
Having done 4 A-levels (5 inc general studies) including maths, physics and economics and currently a Mech Engineering degree I will agree that they are far from easy. In fact some aspects of them were harder than my degree is. However, learning answers by wrote really is of no benefit to anyone except perhaps a quiz team, but being able to apply knowledge really is. If you can do that, you will do well.
It's far better this way, as in the real world, you'd get a textbook or journal to reference, so your memory isn't such a factor as how you interpret and apply data, concepts and facts you are given.
I'd venture that if they had revised the syllabus rather than revising the past exams they would have found the exam a relative breeze.
I read through about half the paper and I see absolutely nothing you could complain about. A lot of the answers could be inferred from the question with some logic applied, so how you could complain about it being hard to revise for is beyond me.
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