Today I've mostly bin...

[Bunnylump]

>impressed<

I'm the youngest in my family, and spent my life not quite living up to my brother (who went to uni). And getting into more trouble than he did (yes, I know that was my fault because I was too naughty - but at least I didn't go round blowing things up like he did!!!)

[Bunnylump]

...Getting year 11s to do past papers in preparation for their science exam on Friday. Can someone please tell me how they can insist that there is no "dumbing down" of the exams? Some of the questions are so ridiculous that they are almost insulting. Here are two frinstances:

Hamid adds vinegar to his fish and chips. Vinegar is used
a. To preserve the food
b. To cook the food
c. To kill bacteria on the food
d. To add flavour to the food.

Wasiba says:
"Scientists have proved that extra terrestrial life exists."

Thomas says:
"Extra terrestrials must exist because they appear on Star Trek".

Which is correct?
a. Only Wasiba is correct.
b. Only Thomas is correct
c. Both Wasiba and Thomas are correct.
d. Neither are correct.


Now I'm not saying there weren't difficult questions as well. But these were honestly genuine questions, which would receive a mark each out of a 24 question module. It is entirely multiple choice too. When I did science at school, I remember having to be able to draw and label, for example, the entire digestive system, a cross section of an eye, the kidneys and the heart. How does that compare with THIS?

[kingsley]

Now I'm not saying there weren't difficult questions as well. But these were honestly genuine questions, which would receive a mark each out of a 24 question module. It is entirely multiple choice too. When I did science at school, I remember having to be able to draw and label, for example, the entire digestive system, a cross section of an eye, the kidneys and the heart. How does that compare with THIS?

We do hard stuff like that! I wish the questions we have were as easy as the ones you mentioned!

[Bunnylump]

To be fair, this is foundation level single science. But ultimately, someone could end up with a GCSE from it!! The higher papers, and the double and triple science papers are far more difficult. Which makes it all the more unfair that this has some very easy questions. In my opinion it devalues the hard work that people like you are putting into your studies.
>Back off soapbox<

[giraffe]

They should call triple science Physics Chemistry and Biology and the easy one General Science to differentiate them. I can see there is room for the less able children to have a GCSE in science, and it's probably very useful to them to know that aliens don't really exist etc. probably more use in real life than some of the stuff on the harder papers, but it shouldn't dumb down the subjects for the people who want to take the subjects further.

It worries me that when I started A levels there seemed to be a huge jump between the O level stuff and the start of the A level syllabus and that jump must be even bigger now, unless the jump happens between school and University. I fear that the exams are just lulling the bright students into a false sense of security about how easy learning is and somewhere along the line there will be a rude awakening.

[LAT]

Oh, yes, there is a rude awakening!

[MBH]

there seemed to be a huge jump between the O level stuff and the start of the A level syllabus and that jump must be even bigger now,

Thinking back to my days, I certainly agree with the blue part - and only HOPE that the green part is true. It took 3 A-levels to go on for University, and it was the grades of those 3 that counted. . Now I'm sure you hear of pupils taking 4 and 5 A-levels... That shouldn't be physically possible (without the aid of a time-turner )

[Scurra]

Well I suppose it depends whether you count "General Studies" as an A-level or not...
(You may be unsurprised to learn that I got my best result in that particular subject )

And some people always did take 4 or 5 A-levels (there were several in my year, cough cough years ago.) Although, annoyingly, they were also the ones who were going to pass them all easily anyway.

[clvrlad]

well having never done A levels i cant comment
i went straight onto a BTEC bumping into students who went to high school a year higher than me now in my class
i found the course work hard but not the material
just useless at writing t down

punctuation?
grammar?
i knew id forgotten something

[giraffe]

I started off doing 5 A levels, but dropped further Maths after a year. (And yes General Studies was one that I got an A in too). I went to the year 13 prize giving at Kingsley's school this year as she was playing in the Jazz band and there were spare seats at the back. I was amazed at the number of students getting four and a half A levels Apparently you get half an A level for completing the lower sixth and they all have to do general studies in the lower sixth.

[Bunnylump]

I started off doing 5 (music, English, Geography, Biology and Art). Which dropped to 4 in a week, 3 after the school's first attempt to expel me a month later and then a desperate 2 after a big battle. Frankly, how I managed to pass those 2 is nothing short of a miracle. Mainly because I never went to the lessons, read any of the books or did any work of any description. My idea of 6th form largely consisted of being in the common room drinking coffee (and sometimes something stronger), smoking behind the bike sheds or snogging in the music room... (Fernando and Kingsley - this is a cautionary tale, not a suggestion!!!)

[giraffe]

We thought we were rebellious when we sneaked out to the sweetshop to buy Smarties!

[strep98]

I was told I couldn't stay to do A levels, but to go out and get a job That why I love my mother

[eirian]

Ooh, Giraffe, I started with 5 A Levels and dropped Further Maths as well. For some reason I didn't do as well in General Studies as Scurra!
I'm glad they didn't do a joint science back when I was doing O Levels - really couldn't do Chemistry (probably due to teacher) so was glad at least I could do the others.


today, mostly bin waiting to buy a local paper tonight - we've evicted someone this week which is being covered (he's been threatening to kill his family, his kids are now taken into care). Mind you, we've another eviction next Wednesday which is going to be even more fun - it's a pub that's a centre for the local BNP, so they're threatening to chain themselves in and if 'other local inhabitants' happen to cause problems, that's just the local community supporting them.... Should be fun!

[Bunnylump]

Let them chain themselves in, but make sure someone is on hand to weld the locks shut. That should do it...
It's all fun and games round here too. The awful dive which called itself a pub nearest to us has just been shut down because the licencees ( who had young children I may add) were apparently found to have been selling drugs from the pub, as well as firearms. Lovely.

[Biscuit]

no wonder i find these puzzles a challenge - with all you people doing a levels and more than the norm a levels at that. - i was told to choose between a nursing career or secretary and as i do not like blood particularly went the secretarial route.

biscuit

[Laura]

Biscuit, I think I can honestly say that nothing I ever learnt at school, in 6th form or at uni has been of any use whatsoever when solving these puzzles, except for the one very important life skill of asking for help when I don't have a clue what's going on.

[Bunnylump]

And, as I was at pains to point out, I only ended up with two A levels, which were a total fluke. The solving puzzles thing is something I haven't quite mastered. I'm very good at whinging when I don't understand though...

[giraffe]

A level physics helped with Joseph, but it was general knowledge really I suppose. And maybe a few things I read up on for general studies.

[clvrlad]

actually the only time i used anything i learnt at college was to show my fellow students what i read and tested out whilst trying it on my own

to be fair the tutor for that lesson had been off for several months and we'd been fobbed off with a temp who made us copy things down from text books so we'd learn it.

but we needed to write a program in assembly for a z80 specifically using one chip on the board which non of us had even looked at....
well i had but that was me being bored during a previous lesson i could allready do assembly learnt it myself a few years earlier
during my write a game for the spectrum phase