Several years back I got a 'D' in A-Level Maths...

[Skint Gull]

... even though I got an A at GCSE level.

These exams MUST be getting easier!

BBC NEWS | England | Hampshire | Boy, 8, sets A-level maths record

I believe the word when I was at school for a little runt like this was BOFFIN, maybe someone can update me if the terminology has changed?

 

[pasty]

I believe the word when I was at school for a little runt like this was BOFFIN, maybe someone can update me if the terminology has changed?

Precocious little shitbag ?

 

[Djmiles]

I got a good B in GCSE Maths, and also ended up with a D in A-level maths.

I would say AS level Maths is piss easy, but A2 Maths is bloody difficult!

 

[strings]

I believe the word when I was at school for a little runt like this was BOFFIN, maybe someone can update me if the terminology has changed?

When I was at School, it was just BOFF.

But nowadays smart is cool. It is all about geek chic my friends.

 

[Frutos]

Precocious little shitbag ?

I believe that is the correct technical term, probably with the addition of VERY pushy parents.

 

[Barrel of Fun]

I got an A at GCSE, a C at AO-Level and a D at A-Level. A gradual decline in grades convinced me not to do a Maths degree.

Having said that, we were not taught half the syllabus for P1 & P2 which were my strongest!

 

[Djmiles]

Having said that, we were not taught half the syllabus for P1 & P2 which were my strongest!

Don't get me started on the pure modules. When in class with one of my maths teachers at college, we were starting work on P3 (the hardest module), and our teacher just said to us "You'll do well not to fail this module". Didn't fill any of us with confidence, and I reckon a lot of us did end up failing P3.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

I got a good B in GCSE Maths, and also ended up with a D in A-level maths.

I would say AS level Maths is piss easy, but A2 Maths is bloody difficult!

the jump from o level to A is huge. I recall sharing my experiences on here with someone else who found the jump large. I'll track him/her down..hope they stuck with it.

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

The reason its so easy to get good grades is that the standards have dropped over the last 30 years. In the old days you learnt the subject from books , tried to take in what the teacher was on about , did the homework and the result of your learning was all down to a 2 or 3 hour exam. Nowadays there are dvds , pc tutorials and the internet to utilise , plus the fact the method of teaching is steered towards getting the pupil to pass the exam rather than impart knowledge. Coursework also gets a percentage of marks to add on to the actual exam so its no wonder nearly everyone is getting A and A* grades. When I took O level maths it was Traditional Maths , calculators COULD NOT be used but we had a book of logarithm tables and calculations had to be scribbled in the margins.

 

[Djmiles]

The reason its so easy to get good grades is that the standards have dropped over the last 30 years. In the old days you learnt the subject from books , tried to take in what the teacher was on about , did the homework and the result of your learning was all down to a 2 or 3 hour exam. Nowadays there are dvds , pc tutorials and the internet to utilise , plus the fact the method of teaching is steered towards getting the pupil to pass the exam rather than impart knowledge. Coursework also gets a percentage of marks to add on to the actual exam so its no wonder nearly everyone is getting A and A* grades. When I took O level maths it was Traditional Maths , calculators COULD NOT be used but we had a book of logarithm tables and calculations had to be scribbled in the margins.

That may be the case for GCSE Maths, but for A-Level Maths (which I only completed 4 years ago), was very much text-book orientated with next to no coursework and certainly no dvds, internet etc etc.

 

[Techno]

"His ambition is to work in the City as an actuary specialising in pensions and insurance."

What kind of eight year old has ambitions like that?!?!

 

[strings]

When I was eight I wanted to fly Thunderbird 1 - what is wrong with kids these days?

Deffo a case of parental pressure, I didn't know what an actuary was until I was 22.

 

[CHAPPERS]

"His ambition is to work in the City as an actuary specialising in pensions and insurance."

What kind of eight year old has ambitions like that?!?!

One with abominable twats for parents.

Poor kid doesn't stand a chance.

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

That may be the case for GCSE Maths

It must be , Russ has got grade C in GCSE Maths , which meant he wrote his name and answered 6 questions correctly

 

[Mellotron]

The jump in standard in a lot of subjects from GCSE to A-Level was massive if I remember correctly.

I found GSCE German an absolute doss, but in A-Level there was suddenly 16 different versions of the word "Which?"

I dropped out soon after. True story.

 

[Silent Bob]

"His ambition is to work in the City as an actuary specialising in pensions and insurance."

What kind of eight year old has ambitions like that?!?!

The wait for some kind of maths based superhero goes on.

 

[ben andrews' girlfriend]

The jump in standard in a lot of subjects from GCSE to A-Level was massive if I remember correctly.

I found GSCE German an absolute doss, but in A-Level there was suddenly 16 different versions of the word "Which?"

I dropped out soon after. True story.

I finished my A-level German - ended up with a C when I was 1 mark from an A* in my GCSE!

 

[ATFC Seagull]

The reason its so easy to get good grades is that the standards have dropped over the last 30 years. In the old days you learnt the subject from books , tried to take in what the teacher was on about , did the homework and the result of your learning was all down to a 2 or 3 hour exam. Nowadays there are dvds , pc tutorials and the internet to utilise , plus the fact the method of teaching is steered towards getting the pupil to pass the exam rather than impart knowledge. Coursework also gets a percentage of marks to add on to the actual exam so its no wonder nearly everyone is getting A and A* grades. When I took O level maths it was Traditional Maths , calculators COULD NOT be used but we had a book of logarithm tables and calculations had to be scribbled in the margins.

That is absolute bollocks for a number of reasons.

1. Is 100m getting shorter? I only ask because i remember someone going sub-10 seconds being massive, and now Usain Bolt did 9.7something or whatever it was.

Or, could it be that the distance is the same, but coaching and preparation has developed as a science, allowing runners to achieve better? Why can't the same be said for teaching? Maybe teachers are sharing ideas, resources and knowledge in order to get through to a higher number of kids? But no, of course exams are getting easier.

2. Of course teachers will teach towards getting students through exams rather than "imparting knowledge" - it means imparting SKILLS instead, which the exams thoroughly test them on. This is what the students and the teachers will forever be judged on.

3. Your comment about the text books baffles me. You have a child who has recently gone through the education system - would you prefer he had had a text book thrown at him and been left to do it by himself? Instead teachers are using a variety of ideas, concepts and resources to really help get these ideas through to students.

For Christs sake, we have a fantastic education system run by enthusiastic individuals, who are achieving good results. I know we are a country of moaners but can we at least try to stick to moaning about the things that AREN'T working, rather than the things that ARE?

Oh and btw not "nearly everyone getting A* and A" grades. There are schools in Brighton where over 80% of students are leaving with less than 5 C grades. Which I can imagine is f***ing hard work for the teachers.

 

[Billy the Fish]

When I was eight I wanted to fly Thunderbird 1 - what is wrong with kids these days?

Deffo a case of parental pressure, I didn't know what an actuary was until I was 22.

What the f***'s an actuary? (I'm 26)

 

[Djmiles]

The jump in standard in a lot of subjects from GCSE to A-Level was massive if I remember correctly.

I found GSCE German an absolute doss, but in A-Level there was suddenly 16 different versions of the word "Which?"

I dropped out soon after. True story.

I loved German at GCSE, but AS Level was very different. Dropped it at the end of the year and took up Geology instead.