Why have an exam where more than half the students get the best possible grade?
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Soldato
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Tefal said:
sorry i dissappointed you then..
my bad!
Simon said:
But, as has been pointed out -- the students who are taking FM are clearly the most able in the subject and therefore capable to undertake what university will demand of them.
A-Levels and academic performance are not the be-all and end-all of finding the best candidates. All that it suggests to me is that the higher tier universities, if they're so concerned about keeping their prestige either need to interview like Oxbridge does or simply include non-academic criteria, such as work experience as this can sometimes be crucial in character building. I wonder - does that 'boffin' who obtained 7 A-levels have a part-time job or does mummy and daddy pay for everything? Is he an egotistical little muppet or does he have enough life experience to be humbled?
We may find universities looking less at academic performance and more at individual circumstance.
Soldato
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Just 'cos someone does very well at A levels doesn't mean that they will do well at university .. e.g. one of the people on my FM couse went to Oxford and almost flunked out completely after getting straight A's at A level.
In my experience (highlighted to make the point that other peoples experence may vary!) the people who go on to have problems at university are those who have been coddled by their parents as they are not used to making it on their own in the real world. Also from the people I know, people who go to a seperate college to their school, so their six form is not in a school environment, do better than those whose six form is in a school .... this appears to be due to the change in environments not being such a big jump.
In my experience (highlighted to make the point that other peoples experence may vary!) the people who go on to have problems at university are those who have been coddled by their parents as they are not used to making it on their own in the real world. Also from the people I know, people who go to a seperate college to their school, so their six form is not in a school environment, do better than those whose six form is in a school .... this appears to be due to the change in environments not being such a big jump.
memyselfandi said:
Then in this particular instance, Oxford's screening of this potential candidate failed. Of course it's not always possible to make accurate predications of a candidates caliber or eventual results as there is an array of variables which can kick into force. The reason why someone who failed their A-Levels yet achieve a first class degree is the same reason why some intellectuals fall short.
Associate
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The Pat said:
Nah don't think that's actually confirmed really.
the thing with further maths is that the grade takes into account normal maths.
you do 6 units normal math, then 6 units further math.
if you get 95% on normal math (as you should since your studying 2x as many classes). Then you only need 65% in further math to score a grade A. as 65 + 95 averages to 80% which gets you a grade A.
to "fix" this problem, they should make them separate. so your math grade doesn’t count towards you further math grade. Then not as many would achieve the top grade A.
you do 6 units normal math, then 6 units further math.
if you get 95% on normal math (as you should since your studying 2x as many classes). Then you only need 65% in further math to score a grade A. as 65 + 95 averages to 80% which gets you a grade A.
to "fix" this problem, they should make them separate. so your math grade doesn’t count towards you further math grade. Then not as many would achieve the top grade A.