Are A Levels Getting Easier Or Are Students Getting Brighter?

Question

When I took my A levels back in 1984 the grades I obtained were AAB which I was justly proud of.

Back in those days the clever students got 3 A grades or if they were part of the elite 4 A grades.

However, nowadays to get AAB is seen as average and the clever students are getting 7 A grades (as the link below shows).

This would have been impossible back in 1984.

Does this mean that human evolution is moving so fast that teenagers now are far smarter than they were 23 years ago, or is it just because A levels have been made easier so that more teenagers can get into university?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/6949438.stm

Er sorry 'Mysterious' but I can remember that we had to work bloody hard too!

fftlandmcrfan: You really are the biggest joker I have ever come across. Believe me girls DID go to school back in 1984!!!!

Answer 1

No I think students today have to work harder.

Answer 2

I am coming into my second year at uni and I done my a-levels prior to that, I can say from the point of view of someone that has recently done them(that means im not a 40 something telling people how easy they are today without having much clue whether they are or not) and they weren't a walk in the park as many seem to imply.
I sat music theory, fine art, english language and media studies and they required a lot of time and effort in order to complete them with adequate grades to go onto do my degree. Many people at college dropped out, many didn't pass and many were in their second and third attempts at passing them, so the ones that do pass first time work hard should be given credit for the work they have done.
With the access to new technologies such as the internet students do have the capability of seeking out information they might not otherwise have and the internet and resources available do aid students, but the exam questions probably differ from how they used to be and different things are expected from students of today.
I think it is quite disheartening to hear people rant on about how they are easier and how students aren't required to work as hard.
Without meaning to sound big headed, for a nineteen year old I think I have worked hard and achieved a lot and this means I have bright prospects for the future, I am working hard for it though, nobody has made me do it, nobody has helped me do it. Give students some credit where its due! :)

Answer 3

Come on look at the subjects that are being taken, film making, critical thinking etc.

These exams are completely useless and are are obviously too bloody easy.

Secondly take a look at the people who are getting 7 As. They look like they have never run around a green field or felt the sun on their backs. They would not know a football from a tennis racquet.

A rounded person is what is required. Not someone who took "Chinese" A level cause he was brought up in Hong Kong!!!

Answer 4

The problem with education nowadays is this.

When i was at school (many moons ago), for any given subject, a teacher would throw a book at us and tell us to "Study That".

Nowadays, the teachers pass the pupils a book and tell them to "Study chapter 3 and the second half of chapter 7, paying particular attention to the final 2 pages of the book, because those pages cover the topics you will be asked about in your exams."

So what we have today is the illussion that students are fully clued up on any given subject. The truth is, they are clued up on the likely answers to any given subject and as a result they can satisfy the figures neede by the inspectors.

The CBI recently issued a warning to students that British industry will still want to test the school leavers before offering them employment, and who can blame them!

Answer 5

Easier. Education is big bucks today. Billions and billions of dollars are spent and collected each year for education. So schools have to dumb down the curriculum to make taxpaying and college paying parents happy. Outside of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), the rest is for those with strong opinions. As you can tell I wasn't a STEM major.

Answer 6

I think students get alot more help with passing exams now. Before you sit your proper exam you can sit several practice papers (the papers are from previous exams). Some of the questions are the same as on the proper exam or just worded slightly differently, so when you sit your exam you will have already seen some of the questions, you just have to remember the answer!

Answer 7

Easier if looking at the spelling on here is anything to go by

Answer 8

I haven't got any A levels but I did cse's and o'levels (unfortunately I am that old). I retook math gcse to obtain a hihger grade about 10 years ago and I am sure it was easier.

Answer 9

Easier

Answer 10

i did two A levels when i was 36 and was proud to pass then everyone said they were getting easier, bull,
i think theres to much home work done on the internet these days, and no back then I didnt know how to use a computor never mind have one,

Answer 11

well lets put it this way, 7 out of 10 kids leave primary school unable to read and write correctly but by the time they leave high school they're all bloody genius's. i just took a diploma at college equivalent to 2 A levels and it was easy.