Why do people keep saying that today's A Level's are easier? Why don't they just give the kids a break?

Answer 1

I completely agree it seems people nowadays just like to ruin things and rant on about how in their day it was harder i think we should give the kids a break they may be getting A's but i have seen kids go through nervous breakdowns to get them (one child we know is actually now mentally disabled from the stress for the rest of her life!) the poor kids really seem to literally be killing themselves for these grades

Answer 2

The reason they say that A levels are easier is because it is true. Is this something new? No because it has been going on at least since the late1950s early 1960s. Does it matter? Only in the sense that it is impossible for a University or employer to know how good an applicant really is. If it was generally accepted that A levels were too easy is there something that could be done about it? Not in the short term because all the teachers have been through the system and don't know anything is wrong or at least would find it difficult to admit there was a problem.

Answer 3

My sentiments exactly. They do it every year after the results come in, they cannot accept that children are not all failures(although some are). It is true that the results have risen consistently for the last 20 years or so, but this does not mean the tests are getting easier- It means that teaching is better(which is probably true) or that children are getting smarter(which may be true) or Both. I think that it is really cruel to students, that when they put in all that hard work to get an A, people just go and demean their results and say it is nothing to do with their work. It is sending out bad messages, people need to be told that hard work=success, not some random malicious lies.

Answer 4

Hi,

I can kinda understand their point (being a kid who's done some A Levels :-)!) - the coursework can have quite a large impact on your overall grade since it can "cushion" you against a bad mark in the exam. However, this is only true of A Levels which have coursework.

I guess also we now get formula books which presumably you guys didn't when you did yours, but arguably, there's not much point in learning a formula for the sake of it unless it's of real use (take a look at the booklet for the Stats module of Edexcel Maths - if you tried to recall all of the formulae it would take longer than the actual paper!).

I can certainly vouch for the A Levels being harder than GCSEs (O Levels), but both parties only have a one-sided view...

Answer 5

As a teacher, I have some views on this...

I don't think kids are getting brighter - there is no evidence that population IQ is improving over the years. That's a nonsense idea.

I think high grades often go to groups with good teachers. I have seen examples of good teachers leaving and not-so-good teachers taking over and the next set of results are not-so-good (and take a few years to improve, as the teacher gets more practise preparing students for the exam).

This last point reinforces my view that high grades come from good exam preparation. I have myself demonstrated that if you teach students the marking guide (i.e. criteria they must meet for each mark) and they work hard to follow it they see higher marks. A student of mine a few years ago scored 68/100 on an exam paper in January. She re-sat in June having learned the marking guide and an essay-writing formula and scored 100/100 - combination of her hard work and my teaching to the test. I do not think this is desirable, but it got her the A grade she wanted (her initial grade was C)

It is easier to get higher grades now because teachers teach to the test, and you can re-sit modules (an A level is made up of 6 separate exams and all except those taken at end of second year can be re-taken at least once). If all exams were taken at the end of the second year results would be lower and would show more learning and understanding rather than memory and regurgitation of "chunks" of learning. You tend to get "structured essay" questions now rather than the traditional open-ended statement - all with strict marking guides that are easy to teach and learn.

Sorry, but it's true. It is not the students' fault though - and those with A grades have usually worked very hard and are intelligent - lazy students or weak students usually get lower grades (with a few lucky exceptions!).

Answer 6

"A"s have become easier to get. There are many reasons for inflated grades ranging from argumentative parents to getting better funding for schools. The fact is, an A grade used to mean rare and above average abilities, but now people feel if they meet all the criteria successfully they deserve an A but they don't.

Answer 7

Give them a break and do what? Make the As even easier?

Answer 8

i agree.
my dad tok A level years and years ago.in art he got b.
since then he has done all these MA's and BMAs etc.etc and got loads of degrees. he decided to do this A level art just for fun.
he got b and we are all shocked that 40 years on and several degrees is still a b!
a levels are still harsh

Answer 9

They say it because it is a fact. A levels no longer have any validity, rather like GCSE`s. It is now a real achievement to fail a GCSE, and it`s the same with A levels. You can`t argue, it`s fact.

Answer 10

because people can't stand to see that although we are younger then them, we are also brighter.