GCSE... It that like the final testing after a stage of education? Or is that more like a specialization test?

Sorry Robo, but Kara is right, I took the first ever year of GCSE's I got 2 B's and 4 C's and the questions I was answering were a great deal harder than the ones in modern GCSE exams, I know this because I have worked my way through them. You have achieved just fine, and no-one is knocking that, but when 90% plus of trainees are getting high marks, don't you think that suggests that the spread of marking is a bit scewed?

It's all very well schools saying 'Kids are smarter than people 50 years ago', but it's also quite quite wrong, we merely have access to more information, and schools neglect the fact that these exams are far younger than 50 years, so why, if education has advanced, is your average 'O' level exam of 20 years ago almost equal in difficulty to a modern day A level?

As for your percentages, don't be so certain, like I said earlier, people are playing games with percentages

Edit : Hippo as the first 'major' collection of general exams

If you want insultingly easy tests, go get a driver's permit at the Oregon DMV. o_o I just did yesterday. I mean...:

<Very clear picture of a stop sign>

"You come to an intersection and see this sign. What should you do?"

No joke.

And my school is messed up. Some of the teachers use +s and -s, but some don't. And some round strangly. Like my old algebra teacher - if you had, say, an 89%, and just were on his good side (Not sucking up - more like rarely had late work, payed attention, etc), he'd just round you up to an A-.

When the pass mark for the maths GCSE is 20%, which gives you a C, you can't argue that the exam system isn't a sham.

I had that question with 4 possible responses:

Stop. Go. Wait till it turns green. Proceed through slowly.

I liked the third one ...

There a question on mine about what color a stop sign was, One of the choices was purple

I'd be interested to see how he would do on the SAT in the US. IIRC only 1 person in the States got a perfect score on the thing the time I took it. Or maybe it was just Georgia, not entirely sure.

I know 2 people who got perfect scores on the old sat. the new one not so much, because they're so damn stingaint on the essay...

Yea I was talking about the new one. On the old one even though, people in my school averaged around 1100-1200 out of 1600. That's 68%-75%. I managed to get a 1400, and that was enough to let me skip my senior year entirely and go to college. And that's where I am now

woah, i got an 1150, which is over national average at least... (for the old one)...

GCSE... It that like the final testing after a stage of education? Or is that more like a specialization test?

Done when your 15/16. From there a person can either go on to further education or get a job (or sit on their ass). It's the end of the legally required education in Ehgland & Wales. Not sure about Scotland tho.

Since I'd heard bad things about it I took a look at it and it was ridiculous. My sister was telling me that even though she was in the second year of study they hadn't covered basic things like the stucture of ammonia yet.

I got taught the structure of Ammonia

You had to work much harder throughout the whole year with less of a guarentee that you actually understood it all at the end because once you had passes a module you could completely forget about it. (Unlike exam based courses where you had to remember it for the final exam).

None of my subjects were based on modules, they were all based on the final exam at the end of the year. Coursework counts for about 20% of the grade usually, which means for example some time in June I earned enough out of that remaining 80% in my Mathematics exam to get an A. Which therefore means I had to remember the stuff I learnt

The exams probably are indeed getting 'easier', but I still don't think they are 'easy' for anyone of my age. Unless your a genius that is.

I think the major issue isn't that exams are getting easier, it's more that the exams have a tendency to test exam technique rather than subject knowledge. People are passing more because teachers are more able to teach students how to pass an exam; and if you're unlucky, you end up with a teacher who doesn't teach you anything else.

Our doom is ending up with people who can construct an essay covering "key points" and "exam criteria" but can't remember what "Mit Brennende Sorge" was. So I fear, anyway.

GCSE... It that like the final testing after a stage of education? Or is that more like a specialization test?

Done when your 15/16. From there a person can either go on to further education or get a job (or sit on their ass). It's the end of the legally required education in Ehgland & Wales. Not sure about Scotland tho.

I think the GCSE Equivalent in Scotland is the Higher. I'm not 100% sure though, and I think both use different grading systems - which makes job application webforms a right pain in the jacksie.

I managed to get a 1400, and that was enough to let me skip my senior year entirely and go to college. And that's where I am now

Why on earth would youwant to do that? Last year of High School = Awesome.