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

Consider this journal well and truly hi-jacked

It's nice to have some good news around here as well - sometimes it's a bit depressing and too many arguments...

(brings in a crate of beer) *settles down to a long stay in the journal*

Wow. My results (@ my space) were MUCH better than I had hoped for!
YAY. More !

Congrats Spook (and everyone else) on your fine results.

I'm an American tabby. Could someone briefly explain the significance of the GCSE? Is it like our ACT or SAT?

Erm

Well they're exams you take in year 11 (age 15-16), normally in around nine-ten subjects which you pick two years before and study.

my knowledge of the American Education System is zero, sorry, but maybe that helps...?

Thanks. The ACT and SAT are tests taken after secondary school (high school) used for college placement. Generally people are 17-19 years old although some will begin taking then in their early teens so that they can get higher scores when the "real" test happens. An extrordinary SAT score may get an individual into an otherwise inaccessible college or university (but are not intended to be a measure of intelligence).

You may remember during the US presidential elections that a big deal was made over G.W. Bush's low SAT scores. (They weren't low. They were average.)

Do the GCSE tests have any impact other than rating your progress in learning? Do they determine education or work opportunities?

OK... *thinks*
This is a little complex, so bear with me while I try to explain it...
The Grades you can achieve in GCSES are:
A*
A
B
C
D
E
F
U
with A* being the highest, and U the lowest. A "C" is considered a pass. Most jobs require at least 5 "passes" in Maths and English and three others. To go onto sixth form college to take the next set of exams (A Levels - four subjects, grades A-G, required for most Universities) or to go to college, you need to pass pretty much all of them (about nine) or get five passes, depending on the college.
*deep breath*
Maybe I should write a guide entry on this...

btw you can also get G in GCSE and U in A-level, you don't need C or aboves in English and Maths, just five C and aboves to get into most sixth forms and colleges, although C or aboves are usually required from GCSE to continue the subjects in A-levels.

spook

How dare you post in your own journal

I didnt mean you needed it to get in to college...

*note to self - don't stop typing mid-sentence*

I mean most jobs require it *doof*



It changes, though - for 2002 you just needed 5 passes to stay on at my school, and 6A*s and A's to join...
2003 you need the same to join - but 6A*s or A's to stay... my school is SO concerned with results that it stops some people who are going to get D;s and E's from taking exams...

So if I understand you correctly, "A levels" are a pre-college exam and GCSE is a mid-secondary school exam that determines whether you continue in secondary education or move to something else. Is that right?

The US is just beginning to develop mandatory testing programs. Home schooling is quite common here and it is possible for a home-schooled child to go years without an outside-proctored exam. I don't know any home schoolers that do that however. Most will enroll their children in exams to ensure that they are learning at a proper (or better) rate.

What happens if you do poorly on the GCSE? Do you have to drop out of school and resign yourself to flipping burgers for the rest of your life?

Here, even if you do very poorly on exams you still can probably find a college so desperately in need of money that it will accept your tuition payment. Whether you succeed is another story.

no wonder you didn't realise that after a grade F and before a grade U there was a grade D!

no no no no no Hermi!

in the uk, school finishes at 16. at 16, we take our exams, called GCSEs. depending on our results, we can either go on to a College or Sixth Form for two more years, then take our A-levels (exams), or leave school altogether. college and sixth form are the same thing with the difference being a Sixth Form is done by a secondary school, a college is not. College is for people 16-18 usually. after that comes University, which we call Uni, where we go to get degrees!

if you do poorly in your GCSEs, or if you don't want to continue school, you can go straight into work, start an apprentership, or become an unemployed lowlife bum. either way, once you have completed your GCSEs, school is no longer compulsery.

also, college and sixth form doesn't usually cost money to join.

spook

Oh. Now I get it. (I think.) What we call secondary school or high school typically goes from age 15 to age 18. At age 16 it is no longer mandatory. Your system splits at the mandatory schooling point and ours doesn't. Both are free to age 18 (typically) unless an individual elects to attend a private school. What does the UK mean when using the term "secondary school"? Does the education differ between a sixth form and a college?

We use "college" and "university" pretty interchangably here. (I'm sure there is some difference between colleges and universities that has to do with the degrees offered but the term college is used for both.) All post secondary education costs money in the US. I assume it does in the UK as well.

Well if you go to college before your 19, it's free. University costs £1,100 a year for undergraduate courses, plus living costs, textbooks etc etc

and alcohol of course

Hmm, me and you "should" write an entry on this spook

well, in the uk, we have 2 types of school system:

1. Primary School ages 5-11
Secondary School ages 11-16
Sixth Form/college ages 16-18
University - 18+

2. Primary School ages 5-9
Middle School ages 9-14
Upper School 14-16
Sixth Form/college ages 16-18
University - 18+

i'm not totally sure about the ages of the second system, but i think most the country, and us in this convo, are working using the first system.

spook

Yeah, I am...

Never saw the point of middle school

Hmm If I wrote an entry, would you check it was right spook?

of course!

Thanks

It's worse than that if you are at all right about the middle school ages, because it means there was/is yet another different system.

If you want to include US information I'll gladly supply what I know. I think it is fairly consistent throughout the 50 states. Grades are generally determined by age but not always. Children can be "held back" or skip grades depending on ability.

Ages 3-5 non-mandatory pre-school (sometimes recommended to get children ready)

5-6 kindergarten (I think it is mandatory most everywhere but it varies from half-day partial weeks to full time depending on the school district.) More and more children are starting school at age 6 now, and most districts have a minimum age cut-off.

Primary School - grades 1-4(up to 6) ages 6-10(up to 12) depending on whether districts have a middle school or a junior high. Most are moving toward the middle school idea, phasing out junior high.

Middle School - grades 5 or 6-8 ages 10-14 OR Junior High - grades 7-8 (or 9) ages 12-14 (or 15) (For a guide entry I would probably leave off all reference to the old junior high system. It is relatively uncommon now.)

High School (also called secondary school) - grades 9-12 (or 10-12).

Optional drop-out age is 16. Schooling through grade 12 is free (in theory) although students pay fees for driver education, laboratory use, arts and sports. Average cost per student varies in every school district but typically ranges from $3000 - $5000/year and is funded by state income taxes and local property taxes. No testing is required to graduate from secondary school with a diploma. (yet) Districts (and states and, more recently, the federal government) determine graduation requirements.

Technical colleges and state universities are partially funded by taxpayers but students bear the bulk of their expenses for tuition, books and usage fees.

Private education is available at every level. Home schooling is pretty common and can go through age 12. Some districts are now allowing home-schooled kids to receive diplomas depending on test scores. If a diploma isn't allowed they have to get a General Education Degree (GED) which has a bit of a stigma to it.

I'd be curious to find out how more countries handle their education programs and I'll gladly help with an entry.