h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

What do people reckon on the new AS exam structure. The general national consensus is that they are too hard and putting too much work on students. I think they are generally a good idea though, modular exams are better than all-in-one-go, and the theory is that you get to do more subjects...

Ok, speaking as a student currently preparing for my AS examinations I think that the whole idea is vaguely farcical. The teachers have as little idea about what the syllabuses are examing as the students. It means that each student doesn't have a year of 'adjustement' to the style of A-Level learning, as we have to suddenly learn right from the begining how to take good notes, learn independently etc, which is a big jump from GCSE learning. Also, from anecdotal evidence of friends and brothers, I've learnt tthat year 12 USED to be a time for students to get drunk and have fun..sampling a kind of Uni-life-Lite before the actual pressure starts to mount..there's no chance for this now (not that it's stopped me ). Admittedly, i do like the idea of the added choice involved, and some of the students who drop out at the end of year 12 will now have at least SOME qualification, but this is the minority, and the rest of us have an excessive workload (i only have 4 50 minute study periods every two weeks..and I'm expected to do at least 5 hours homeowrk each week for each subject, leaving no time for a social life). In essence the idea is faulty..and I object to having been made a guinea pig in the governments experiment. If you need a measure of the systems success simply look at the results of those who took the exams in Spring..aparently they were appalling..which shattered the hopes of teachers who had been hoping that the trial year would have the marking 'going easy' on those who have suffered from doing brand new exams with no teaching experience..and very few of those goldmines of revision help..past papers.
Any questions??????

I'm in the last year of A-levels at the moment, and to be perfectly honest, I'm bloody thankful for it. I can see the point of the AS level exam - to broaden the number of subjects that most students do, and to allow any of those subjects to be dropped at the end of year 12 whilst still getting a qualification of sorts. However, the new AS syllabuses seem to be even more rigid than ours, leaving little room for originality of thought. It was possible to take three A-levels, General Studies an another subject under the old regime and still have study periods. I'm taking 5 A-levels - English Lit, History Biology, GS and Art. Officially I was to do art AS but I did the rest of the A-level off my own back. It was possible under the old system, and as far as I can make out, more enjoyable to all concerned. Still, this is only the first year of AS, so there will undoubtably be changes.

I'm doing AS's too... I like the fact that I can do 4 and then choose one to drop!

Our year has been made Guinea Pigs of constantly, we were the first to do the non-calculator Maths exam (and many people were the first to do modular French), we were the first to do Year 9 SATS (it was actually introduced the year before us but the teachers striked against it), and now the first to do AS & A2 levels...

Still, I'm not complaing (some people moan too much).

It atleast offers some more discipline, and I think that the specification does look easier.

The problem is that Teachers are slow to adapt and so are teaching the old specification, giving us too much information (so my Eng. Lang. teacher has just told us)...

FR, you said that teachers are giving you too much information. I think that this is a problem of the exam culture that we live with now - people aren't interested in learning things because they'er interesting any more, because they're all too worried about whether it will be on an exam or not.

I completely agree with you Emily, education teaches you how to pass exams and not a knowlage of the subject..

The example I was referring to was my English Language teacher giving us complex information on grammar, stylistics, language theories, etc.. He recently has said that he has realised he's given us more than we needed for the exam (he did add, mainly to cover himself up, that it can't be a bad thing to have a broad knowlage). I don't see it as a problem, but many of my classmates are complaining of the 'workload'.

I'm genuinely interested in the subject, and have been reading loads of books and stuff around the subject just for fun. English Literature on the other hand... I am just doing for the exam!

*humpfh*

Which subjects are you taking, and what do you want to do after the sixth form?

Wow this is almost like chatting in Real Time...

I'm doing English Language, English Literature, Media Studies & Drama AS Levels (considering whether to drop Lit. or carry them all on to A-Levels).

In broad terms I want to be a writer, as that's been my complete childhood love. I wouldn't mind mucking in the Media for a while (preferably writing) for a while though.

Not sure whether it's better to do an English-based Uni degree or go straight out onto the job market after sixth form..

I'm doing Enlgish Lit, Media Studies, History and Psychology. I'm going to drop media, and intend on doing the completely relevant degree of Computer science with Artificial Intelligence. I have no idea where to study though..and I'd like to see what thoughts other people might have Uni's which are good for this and other subjects.
Anyway that's me..so what the hell about you.
Also..I agree with Emily about the whole Knowledge for personal interest rather than just teaching strictly to exams..Nothing annoys me more than being restricted in what I must learn and failing to actually gain a thourough knowledge of the subject..the whole exam system generally sucks big fat hairy a**e. so ner

Why are you going to drop Media?

I'm doing English Lit, Biology, History, Art and General Studies. Lovely.

I found the first year of media immensely boring and soul destroying. Oh..I also intend to become a writer of some form...though I doubt I have the patience..but hey..what do i care..its only a dream

Yeah, H2G2 is full of writers (which is no bad thing! )

I'm finding Media very easy (if I may say so), the practical side of it can be a bit frustrating, but the theories are pretty much common intellegence.

Inresting mixture there Emily, so what do you want to do?

What do I want to in reality, or in dreamworld? Obviously, practically everyone on h2g2 wants to be a writer, and I'm no exception - only I rather fancy being a playwright/novelist/political journalist. Otherwise I'd like to be a critic, or if all else fails, a portrait painter...

I'll be reapplying to university next year though, to do English Literature.

We can't do Media at our school, or psychology, or any other non-traditionalist subject, for that matter.

Where do you go? Sounds like a boring school.. I'm sure you get a good education there though..

sorry to interrupt here! i think that whether AS is a good idea depends on the subjects you are taking. With sociology its basically split down the middle and the 4 areas divide well. It makes it a lot better, less to learn each time. However some subjects seem to have been divided about as expertly as Ireland! In economics we can't find out about why it's 'marginal' private cost until next year we just have to know it.

I also agree that the teachers don't know whats going on. There are no past papers for some subjects, they don't know the grade boundaries.

At my 6th from the year 13s all seem to wish they'd had the AS system but i think thats a lot to do with the fact that they'd have already done half their exams by now.

I think that it's generally a bad idea. We seem to have to rush through the syllabus, we don't get a break from exams and some subjects just dont split in half.

But there again if I get good grades I'll probably change my mind

I think the AS level system will be good in about five years time when it's been around for a while.

By the way, I love that BBC advert for 'AS Guru' (http://www.bbc.co.uk/asguru) - "There wasn't even an 's' in my..."

Having the two years is very helpful, though. In history, it all comes togther in the 2nd year as you begin to understand the political situations in all of the different states throughout the period. If I'd taken my biology last summer I'd have failed, frankly.

Incidentally, I go to King Edward VI High School for Girls in Birmingham. Private, so the socialist in me feels bloody guilty...