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Education Secretary Michael Gove plans A-level reform
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Author:  Amnesia10 [ Sun Jul 04, 2010 10:45 am ]
Post subject:  Education Secretary Michael Gove plans A-level reform
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/10500453.stm

Quote:
Modular A-levels could be phased out in favour of a return to traditional exams at the end of two-year courses, the education secretary has said.

Michael Gove wants the exams to be more academically rigorous than the current format of sitting them in four or six units allows.

Well boys results will improve dramatically as a result. Modular courses do not suit boys methods of study.
Author:  forquare1 [ Sun Jul 04, 2010 1:12 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Education Secretary Michael Gove plans A-level reform
Amnesia10 wrote:
Quote:
a return to traditional exams


Perhaps this will stop all of the "exams are getting easier!" protesting...


Perhaps not though....
Author:  Amnesia10 [ Sun Jul 04, 2010 2:25 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Education Secretary Michael Gove plans A-level reform
forquare1 wrote:
Amnesia10 wrote:
Quote:
a return to traditional exams


Perhaps this will stop all of the "exams are getting easier!" protesting...


Perhaps not though....

Not really because they keep changing the content. Have you seen some old exams from the 40s or earlier. They are much harder than todays exams. And never underestimate a politicians ability to change the subject taught to get constantly improving results.
Author:  l3v1ck [ Sun Jul 04, 2010 5:42 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Education Secretary Michael Gove plans A-level reform
+1 for this idea. Modules are a bad idea because:
a) On a two year course you have to be at the right standard after one term, not two years.
b) You can do the module then forget everything
c) Coursework is easy for people to cheat/plagorise.
Author:  ProfessorF [ Sun Jul 04, 2010 6:01 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Education Secretary Michael Gove plans A-level reform
l3v1ck wrote:
+1 for this idea. Modules are a bad idea because:
a) On a two year course you have to be at the right standard after one term, not two years.
b) You can do the module then forget everything
c) Coursework is easy for people to cheat/plagorise.


a) - I'm not sure what you mean by that.
b) - Depends how the course is structured.
c) - Much like the real world then.

Exams only assess your ability to perform in incredibly unrealistic circumstances.
As an employer, I'll take the person who can perform best over a 2 year period rather than the person who can concentrate well for an hour at a time. It's just not realistic.
Author:  Amnesia10 [ Sun Jul 04, 2010 7:00 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Education Secretary Michael Gove plans A-level reform
Yes but the point was that exams are a good way of sorting knowledge without any study aids. They may not be realistic in the real world but what other method enables them to actually test what you really know and understand? Modules can be got around by plagiarism or cheating. Exams are harder to cheat. In many emergencies in a job who would you want a person who has the knowledge in their head or someone who needs to check their books?
Author:  belchingmatt [ Sun Jul 04, 2010 7:08 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Education Secretary Michael Gove plans A-level reform
I think that some subjects such as Chemistry need a physical exam of sorts to show technical ability. I've seen many people with excellent theoretical grades that can burn water and are therefore absolutely useless in a typical laboratory.
Author:  Amnesia10 [ Sun Jul 04, 2010 7:41 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Education Secretary Michael Gove plans A-level reform
belchingmatt wrote:
I think that some subjects such as Chemistry need a physical exam of sorts to show technical ability. I've seen many people with excellent theoretical grades that can burn water and are therefore absolutely useless in a typical laboratory.

Yes but you can get lab assistants for that. :D
Author:  ProfessorF [ Sun Jul 04, 2010 7:50 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Education Secretary Michael Gove plans A-level reform
Amnesia10 wrote:
They may not be realistic in the real world but what other method enables them to actually test what you really know and understand? Modules can be got around by plagiarism or cheating. Exams are harder to cheat. In many emergencies in a job who would you want a person who has the knowledge in their head or someone who needs to check their books?


So you're suggesting that people who've sat exams don't forget the information over time, but people who've actively spent a longer period of time applying knowledge to a subject, do?
Author:  belchingmatt [ Sun Jul 04, 2010 7:56 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Education Secretary Michael Gove plans A-level reform
Amnesia10 wrote:
belchingmatt wrote:
I think that some subjects such as Chemistry need a physical exam of sorts to show technical ability. I've seen many people with excellent theoretical grades that can burn water and are therefore absolutely useless in a typical laboratory.

Yes but you can get lab assistants for that. :D


Unfortunately/fortunately, depending on how you look at it, the crossover between technician and scientist is generally far geater than the individual role. You need some who can think and do at the scientific and laboratory levels, yet alone the health and saftey one.
Author:  bobbdobbs [ Sun Jul 04, 2010 7:59 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Education Secretary Michael Gove plans A-level reform
belchingmatt wrote:
I think that some subjects such as Chemistry need a physical exam of sorts to show technical ability. I've seen many people with excellent theoretical grades that can burn water and are therefore absolutely useless in a typical laboratory.


You weren't that bad in the lab ;) :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Author:  belchingmatt [ Sun Jul 04, 2010 8:09 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Education Secretary Michael Gove plans A-level reform
bobbdobbs wrote:
belchingmatt wrote:
I think that some subjects such as Chemistry need a physical exam of sorts to show technical ability. I've seen many people with excellent theoretical grades that can burn water and are therefore absolutely useless in a typical laboratory.


You weren't that bad in the lab ;) :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:


:lol:

When I left the candidates after my job were pretty much equal when it came to academic grades and interview skills. I set them lab based tasks to test their technical ability and it was very easy to determine those that could be given a method and be left to get on with it, and those that would need constant supervision and training.
Author:  Amnesia10 [ Sun Jul 04, 2010 8:11 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Education Secretary Michael Gove plans A-level reform
ProfessorF wrote:
Amnesia10 wrote:
They may not be realistic in the real world but what other method enables them to actually test what you really know and understand? Modules can be got around by plagiarism or cheating. Exams are harder to cheat. In many emergencies in a job who would you want a person who has the knowledge in their head or someone who needs to check their books?


So you're suggesting that people who've sat exams don't forget the information over time, but people who've actively spent a longer period of time applying knowledge to a subject, do?

Nothing of the sort. Do you remember everything that you learned for your O levels?GCSE/CSE's? I certainly don't but do you use it every day? Probably not either. It is simply a way of assessing people on a fair basis. Modules benefit those who have the resources or commitment to plod along.
Author:  ProfessorF [ Sun Jul 04, 2010 8:15 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Education Secretary Michael Gove plans A-level reform
Amnesia10 wrote:
Nothing of the sort. Do you remember everything that you learned for your O levels?GCSE/CSE's? I certainly don't but do you use it every day? Probably not either. It is simply a way of assessing people on a fair basis. Modules benefit those who have the resources or commitment to plod along.


Fair basis? It simply isn't. It's an artificial measure of your ability to recall information. That's it. It's of no use in the work place, nor academia.
Lots of people who perform perfectly adequately outside of an exam hall can't perform well in an exam.
If you honestly believe that modules benefit those who are committed enough to 'plod along' - well aren't those entirely the people you want to hire? That show commitment to finishing?
Name me one contribution to society that's arisen solely because of someone's ability to sit at a desk for 2 hours and answer questions on a topic they were taught 6 months ago.
Far more use are those people who've got the tenacity to see the goal on the horizon and are able to chart their work load in order to attain that goal in real day-to-day targets, instead of cocking about for most of the term then hitting the books for the last month.
Author:  Linux_User [ Sun Jul 04, 2010 8:45 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Education Secretary Michael Gove plans A-level reform
I think this is a bad idea it doesn't afford students much flexibility. Not many students are going to choose 3/4/5 courses from the off without wanting to change at least 1 of them further down the line. Unfortunately under these proposals, students will be unable to ditch subjects without losing all their progress and without spending another year at college before gaining their qualification.

The AS system means that students can ditch a subject they don't really enjoy after a year but still have a qualification to reflect their efforts. It also allows them to obtain another AS before still leaving in year 2, or continue to get the full A2 in year 3.

As for exams vs coursework. I think, personally, coursework is a much better way to go. Coursework allows the student to study the subject in great depth, and allows for variety/ingenuity in the way the question is answered. In short, it allows students to distinguish themselves. You can cram for exams, but rushed coursework generally shows up quite badly (as does plagiarised work).
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