Are school exams too easy?

[Covenant]

My daughter got her GCSE results today. Thrilled as I am that she got nine of them, I do wonder if the modern exams compare to a good old fashioned GCE.
For example, if I asked her what 12% of 150 was, I seriously doubt she could figure out the answer in her head. I remember doing calculus as part of GCE and it was hard.
My wifes a teacher and, of course, says that teaching has improved. But isnt the exam system devalued by the huge success rate?

[Reid Malenfant]

I really had to laugh recently when i saw some questions from a GCSE exam paper :lol: I'm 44 & in all honesty i'd have expected to answer the questions when i was 11 or 12. As it was without even looking anything up (or the answers) i got 19 out of 20 correct by using just my head.

The exams are miles to easy, the kids don't learn how to do any kind of in depth mathematics on paper, only with a calculator or so it seems :rolleyes:

Show a kid the Daily Mail page 2 the 30 second challenge & i'd be surprised if they could work out any of it in their heads :scratch:

It's a crying shame but in reality it should be no surprise that we are importing labour & industry are crying out for foreign workers as they can actually use their heads.

Education in this country is stuffed imo :mental:

[Mike]

My daughter got her GCSE results today. Thrilled as I am that she got nine of them,

Think yourself lucky, Jerry... I offered my son Lucas an incentive of £50 for an A, £40 for a B, and £30 for a C. He went and got 4 A's (two of which were A stars), 4 B's, and 4 C's.

12 bloody GCSE's. I still haven't recovered from the financial shock!

He sits his A levels next summer.... I'm not falling for that one again! :steam:

[Ali Tait]

Well done Lucas!

[Mike]

He did do well. :)

And I was "well done"! :lol:

I think his A-levels are going to cost me a car. :uhho:

[Clive]

I think most GCSE and A level exams are harder with more material being covered too.

What has changed is access to information via the internet and the big one for some exams is the ability to resit individual papers several times. Teaching is also more focused, ie telling you how to pass the exam but not educating our children.

[Haselsh1]

My daughter got her GCSE results today. Thrilled as I am that she got nine of them, I do wonder if the modern exams compare to a good old fashioned GCE.
For example, if I asked her what 12% of 150 was, I seriously doubt she could figure out the answer in her head. I remember doing calculus as part of GCE and it was hard.
My wifes a teacher and, of course, says that teaching has improved. But isnt the exam system devalued by the huge success rate?

I guess the ultimate answer to this is to get hold of an exam paper and sit it yourself. You'll then know whether it is easier or not.

By the way, I also remember doing calculus and it was bloody difficult.

[Mike]

By the way, I also remember doing calculus and it was bloody difficult.

It still is!

Bloody square root of minus one indeed! :scratch: