Shock horror 40% for an 'A'?

Stop talking crap please... all this "needed 90% x years ago rubbish" doesnt mean anything. I took GCSE Maths last year and was told 40% was an A, which seems low but when considering the difficulty of the paper makes sence due to the way Grades are given - oh and its nothing to do with the Government its the exam boards which set the content.

A certain percentage of people gain A's, a certain percent B's etc etc and the pass mark will vary each year based on the percentages. The GCSE Higher Maths exams are very difficult so the grade A can be obtained with a lower percentage, doesnt mean it is easier to get.

And there is good reason for the different Tiers, and it is fair that for example, Foundation can not gain A's or B's, as they will complete their maths course without even having heard of some aspects of the Higher and Intermediate courses.

Okay then. Shall I start talking about the fact that slowly but surely, the more difficult topics are being taken off the syllabus. Not just in maths but in other subjects too. I know this for a fact. When I was doing my A levels, the tutors there were most concerned that the standard of students was falling every year. They were starting sixth form college with less and less of a foundation to start their A levels. Day in, day out, I had a furious physics tutor saying 'Why don't you know this? You have an A in GCSE science'. He informed us that gradually more and more difficult topics and concepts were being thrown out. You can quote statistics until you are blue in the face. But no two ways about it, standards in education are dropping. And yes, this is ultimately down to the government. The final responsibilty does lie with them. Exam boards are just performing the tasks and meeting the standards stipulated by them.

for my maths GCSE last year i had to get 80% to get a B. i was doing the intermediate paper which meant that the highest mark i could get was a B. so the paper was easier that the higher tier, but required a very high percentage to get a decent mark.

fred

incidently, i got the 80% 😀

Now I am confused. I was just having a political rant cos they're stopping my college course. Education smeducation. Who needs it anyway!? 😛

Originally posted by jimslyp69
Now I am confused. I was just having a political rant cos they're stopping my college course. Education smeducation. Who needs it anyway!? 😛

Originally posted by welsharnie
Acoording to our government... every man and his dog/cat/hamster must get a degree, even if its in plate spinning.

Originally posted by jimslyp69
Yep. And as long as they pay £5000 'top fees' as well. What are they topping up? Tony blair's wallet?

I Homeschooled, My grades went like this

100 - 92 = A
92 - 84 = B
84 - 76 = C
76 - 70 = D
Under 70 = F Failed
If one got a D he had to redo test
If he got F he had to redo the whole subject

but then the test's may have been eisier because my adverage grade was 96%

OK, well another slant is that I got 100% last year on the GCSE exam. I know I didn't because there were questions I got wrong or barely answered. I have just gone and got my results for the higher tier and as far as I can work out, if you module/unit is out of 480 like mine and my friends then for A* you needed 432, A - 384,B - 336,C - 288. Also for the c/w it is out of 120 and for A* you needed 108, (what I got), A - 96, B - 84, C - 72. As you can see because they don't give you your actual mark it is hard to work out what you really got, but I suspect from this 60% would get you a C. As I go to a grammar school you may think we are all clever, but only about 1/2 or less of my year did higher tier, the rest doing intermediate.