British Expatriate Network

http//politics.guardian.co.uk/publicservices/comment/0,11032,1556143,00.html

An article from the Guardian tells in precise detail how things are not what they used to be regarding UK exams. Kids of today can no longer write properly and don't know very much he says. I read elsewhere that 97% of UK students passed their GCSE's. (I assume that the other 3% failed to turn-up).

Given all the technology around I can see why writing skills are in decline. Also, there is so much knowledge at our fingertips what's the point of remembering it all. Is modern education dumbing down? Is it more beneficial to your development to 'fail' or go home with a prize just for trying? I'm curious if anyone has direct experience of this trend. Are your kids brighter than you? Is being able to write properly or getting the facts straight no longer important? Have I made any typos? wink

I suppose it depends on how you are looking at it.

For me, my kids schooling is 10 times better than the education I received in the 70's.  I have often stated that  the 'Janet and John' books bored me so much, no-one actually knew I could read until I was 11.  I joined a secondary school in London at the beginning my 2nd yr. At the time, it was the type of school which was called a 'sink' school.  It had no 6th yr and quickly swapped to CSE's, the so called alternative to 'O' levels.  I have barely any maths skills and over the years I have learnt some of the rules of grammar.

My husband however, was brought up in Scotland and is appalled at the level of some of education the kids get.  However, even he admits he would love to had the opportunity to do some of the classes they have been offer here and Scotland.

Having seen the level of education my nieces and nephews are or were receiving in the Chatham/Rochester area, I suspect I would be an appalled parent even with my standard of education.  Anything I get from them is badly written and/or spelt incorrectly.  Actually, they write as if they are texting me.  My son has a tendency to do that as well since he got a cell phone but fortunately, the school insists on proper english.

As to your other comment about new technology, must admit even my handwriting which wasn't the best in the world to begin with, is now horrendous.  Again, seems the schools around here still seem to prefer hand written work apart from the long essays where they are given clear instructions on how it is to be laid out.

I don't get why people are gloomy that the overall pass rate has risen to 97%. That's from a grade G up. It must be very sad to spend 2 years of your life being spoon-fed to be in the bottom 3% and actually fail a GCSE.

At the university level, you really do expect everyone to pass and it is a sorry reflection on the system whenever anyone doesn't.

There are plusses and minuses to how the education culture has evolved since 'my day' (insert whatever decade you like). Rigour was certainly more important in the past, but nowadays evaluation is more important.

My eldest has just gone through Common Entrance (13+) and it was a lot like the kind of exam that I did 20-odd years ago (with obvious correction vs 16+). I do think he will find his GCSE's quite easy, but then I found my O-grades quite easy too. The big difference nowadays is the amount of coursework they need to do - I didn't do any in my day and that suited me just fine.

What age are students in the UK allowed to leave school?

I don't want everyone to pass at university, I'm an engineer and if I screw up and a bridge falls down, people get upset. I want new grads who have been tested and the incompetent weeded out.

I'm an engineer too, LS, and I would be very sad if any of my classmates had failed after committing themselves for four years. The ones who weren't up to it were pulled out after one year.

16. They take their GCSEs at this stage.

I thought my school education was better than my university education - it was like a 'boot camp' compared to the 3 years holiday at University and you had to go!

I don't think I learned very much during university lectures and no one seemed that interested whether i turned up or not - so I eventually I got distracted and stopped going. My life was then an endless whirl of important student affairs - like going for a coffee/reading the paper/smoking roll-ups/seeing your mates/drinking beer and chatting up women. 8) - there was no time for anything else.

At the end of year 3 I studied intensely for two solid months all the stuff I was supposed to be doing for the last 3 years.
The study method was to guess what exam questions would come up that year and prepare your essays in advance.
I just got hold of copies of other people essays and made notes of what they had said. I got a 21. The lecturers (those that knew me) were a bit baffled.

Looking back it would have been better for me if I had gone to classes. Being assessed on course work would have meant I learnt a lot more. At the very least concept of going to work every day to ear a living would not have been a shock to my system.... best 3 years ever though grin

The previous generations, can easily say the same about the generation that gave birth to today's kids, about the thread topic.

If you judge the standard of education by the pupils then the standard in the US is abysmal. My stepdaughter who is very bright, a good problem solver and thinks quick on her feet just cannot spell, not at all, and more is the pity neither can the people who ae teaching her. When we get communiques from her school they are grammatic hogwash and full of spelling mistakes. We usually send them back full of red ink and prepare a copy of what their letter should be written like.

I didn't realise you meant those entering final year. I have had some who knew the mechanics but were incapable of creating and understanding a structure.

Standards vary enormously from one school district to another, unfortunately.

I've lived in two totally opposite school districts. The first was so bad it made schools the main factor in our relocation to MA. Here I've seen my kids well educated through High School. (Have to say I find them slower to challenge kids in the elementery schools). I was a High School teacher in the UK and can vouch that an AP (advanced placement) qualification at least equates to an A level over there. In addition the kids come out with a much broader education at 18 than was the case in the UK since they take more subjects here.

At the college level I see kids working much harder than I ever did! More hours of classes, more graded coursework and more pressure to maintain grades. I think it's easier to get into college here, but harder to stay there mrgreen There's a higher dropout rate, though I can't remember the figures.

This is such a big country that no two of us will have the same experience. College admissions departments are so huge because counselors have to try to be aquainted with individual High Schools.

Well put janj. I would say that in the early years here more could be done to advance the kids learning but by the time they get to college students are very accountable and are expected to keep up their grades. the pressure is enormous.

Hubby at one time worked in a state university (not in the north-east) and he called it a joke - students being helped through and being passed jsut for showing up and writing their name on the paper.

Jan is exactly right on all counts.