Teenagers await A-level grades

[Win2Win Racing]

Hundreds of thousands of teenagers are finding out their A-level grades, amid record pressure on university places ahead of tuition fee rises.

More... (http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/education-14558490)

[barneymather]

Don't mention grade inflation for Gawd's sake! Thousands of youngsters will get A* grades without a doubt, and impartial experts will say many A and A* awards aren't worth the paper they're written on.

I feel sorry for the kids who deserve top marks who get lumped in with the mediocre, who benefit from the dubious policy of governments wishing to brag about how their educational policies are really working.

The acid test comes in the workplace though, and many employers will tell you kids with apparently very good exam results (and many with degrees) lack literacy and numeracy skills and aren't what you'd call articulate.

Regardless of your personal politics, it's to be hoped the current government puts the brakes on this crazy policy of 'everyone's a winner' in education. It's like teachers kicking goals in to even the score when one team's getting a hiding - giving kids a distorted view of reality won't do them any good when they enter the big wide world.

[bigcumba]

Couldn't agree more Barney, too many youngsters come out of school with these top grades and can't do simple arithmetic without a calculator, or spell properly.

[Win2Win]

Running my own business I'm a member of certain small business groups and for years they've taken no notice of exam results, especially those in the useless subjects. Most go for people with experience and those that show a good attitude. The number of kids who turn up for interviews in hoodies is unbelievable :doh1:

Plus these days the CV is done for them by the job centre :ermmm ..... they learn nothing, and most employers don't even look at the standard printed ones, they look for the unique CV's done solely by the individual.

My lad just finished a 2 year course in college on IT, it covered numerous subjects such as HTML, server management, computer repairs, etc, he got a pass on all, no exam :doh .... he doesn't even know what the first line of web page code should be, he has no idea what software runs a server or how to program it, he keeps getting me to fix his computer :headbange:headbange:headbange .... he learnt nothing and yet they gave him a 'Merit Merit' (:doh:doh:doh) certificate which is totally useless in the real world.

[barneymather]

Continuous assessment replacing exams is a bad idea in education, as it encourages pupils and students (I loathe schoolkids being called students) to take a more laid-back attitude to their studies.

This certainly gives youngsters less grief (and maybe also teachers and lecturers), but I feel it has a distinctly negative effect on an individual's learning experience. Studying is supposed to be hard work, and it's all very well sparing the poor little mites the trauma of actually learning material off by heart, but you're not doing them any favours in the long term.

Now it may well be due to fee-paying schools having better resources (although with the money Gordon Brown threw at State schools, the huge number of badly-educated young people in the UK at present is disgraceful), however the methods of learning used by fee-paying schools, the better State schools, and the well-regarded universities is like comparing an old banger with a Ferrari.

Also, the bare truth is that for all the hot air you hear about a highly-educated workforce being essential for a 21st century economy, this country has a huge glut of degree-holders. We may need more graduates, but not even more of an already vast number in 'soft' subjects which top employers don't rate at all. It saddens me that so many young people don't know, don't realise, or choose to ignore the fact that when a lot of bosses see that John or Jane studied Arts, Social Policy and Media Studies at the former Whatevertown Poly, their CV will be filed in the bin.

When I sat O levels way back when, you were examined on the day and if you didn't pass, well, you just didn't pass - it was retake next year or fail. There was no safety net of building up marks throughout the year so you had a certain percentage 'in the bank' prior to exam day. Lowering the bar in schools and in higher education so that just about everyone passes is trying to drag everyone down to the same level in the name of equality and it can only end in tears.

At an interview, I'm happy to discuss my CV at length with an employer and equally happy to sit aptitude tests. How do kids who've been mollycoddled through the education system react in a situation like that though? Many schools and universities are knocking self-reliance and initiative out of young people when part of their job is to instil these qualities.