Re: New A level structure : Thu Jan 24, 2013 11:33 pm  

ShaunPalmerXIII wrote:

I prefer the current system of having exams every six months, so I don't have to remember what I learnt about Talcott Parsons two years ago.

It's more simple then even that.
You could have the best student in the world who is bob-on with the subject in hand but they are not great in high pressure situations. So 1 bad day and everything is wrecked.

In the current system that is mitigated because a good student is a good student is a good student.
With course work and exams you get a whole picture of their schooling.
With 1 exam as I have already mentioned it could all go breasts up for some very clever students.

The thing that I don't get is why they are so desperate for the change.
If I was to hazard a guess as to why it is to try and drop the pass mark percentages as they don't like the fact that so many are passing.

Re: New A level structure : Fri Jan 25, 2013 7:52 am  

Anakin Skywalker wrote:

The thing that I don't get is why they are so desperate for the change.
If I was to hazard a guess as to why it is to try and drop the pass mark percentages as they don't like the fact that so many are passing.

It's down to Gove's ideology, pure & simple. The man is arrogant beyond belief and seeks to railroad through any crackpot idea that currently takes his fancy.

As for reducing the numbers of people passing, that can only lead to a reduction in the numbers going to university. Universities are now businesses, relying on constant throughput of students to maximise revenues. They also attract a substantial amount of foreign investment. So, if you combine a falling roll of UK students going on to further education with a falling number of foreign students (because of increasingly tighter restrictions on student visas), the only logical outcome can be a reduced number of universities who cater more and more for only those who can afford to attend.

Re: New A level structure : Fri Jan 25, 2013 9:09 am  

the cal train wrote:

1. That would be art history, not art. All study in art based subjects of existing artists/designers/illustrators is used for inspiration and reference, not just regurgitation of facts and inferences on history of art, like an art history exam would most likely entail...

Yes. Art history. Which was a specific element of an art 'A' level back at an old-fashioned girls' grammar school in the olden days. Or the beginning of the 1980s, at Lancaster Girls' Grammar School, in my case.

the cal train wrote:

2. in A levels? Are you kidding? General studies maybe.

Do you know all my fellow students at the time of my 'A' levels, and the amount of work they turned in during the previous two years and their subsequent success rates (or otherwise) come exam time itself?

Re: New A level structure : Fri Jan 25, 2013 12:26 pm  

cod'ead wrote:

It's down to Gove's ideology, pure & simple. The man is arrogant beyond belief and seeks to railroad through any crackpot idea that currently takes his fancy.

As a former employee on fleet street that is hardly suprising.

cod'ead wrote:

As for reducing the numbers of people passing, that can only lead to a reduction in the numbers going to university. Universities are now businesses, relying on constant throughput of students to maximise revenues. They also attract a substantial amount of foreign investment. So, if you combine a falling roll of UK students going on to further education with a falling number of foreign students (because of increasingly tighter restrictions on student visas), the only logical outcome can be a reduced number of universities who cater more and more for only those who can afford to attend.

Back to elitism it is then.
That too is hardly suprising.

Re: New A level structure : Sat Jan 26, 2013 5:44 am  

Anakin Skywalker wrote: As a former employee on fleet street that is hardly suprising. Back to elitism it is then. That too is hardly suprising. He's at it again

Anakin Skywalker wrote: As a former employee on fleet street that is hardly suprising. Back to elitism it is then. That too is hardly suprising. He's at it again

Re: New A level structure : Thu Feb 07, 2013 8:39 am  

It would seem another U-turn is on the cards.