A levels

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Henry Stewart: Shock! Horror! Schools do badly at measure that nobody cares about

Do Russell Group universities really require 3 'facilitating' A levels? The inclusion of  new measure, the % of students in sixth forms that achieve AAB in 'facilitating' subjects' at A level, has caused much hand wringing in the press. The BBC reported that "almost a quarter of England's sixth forms and colleges have failed to produce any pupils with the top A-level ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by libby lawson: "Henry and Janet thank you for raising this. When I think it seems that the whole world has gone completely mad I check the feelings and thoughts of those on this site and feel I am not alone...."

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Meraud: “This is a classic case of fixing something that isn’t broken.”

A-level plans challenged by school and university heads, reports the BBC: 'The organisation representing leading private schools, the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference, called the proposals "rushed and incoherent" and said they were driven by a "timetable based on electoral politics rather than principles of sound implementation".' Not even the independents are on his side....... Let alone academics, teachers, and unions: 'ASCL's general secretary Brian ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Roger Titcombe: "Patrick "Most 16 and 17-year-olds have much more interesting things to do than study for exams that are over a year away." I agree, and I was no more studious than you. But I think part of the reason for that was ......"

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Roger Titcombe: Academic focus driving students to quit A Levels

This is a very important story in the Independent of 21 January about a report from the 'Policy Exchange Think Tank'.First, the facts: students that have enrolled on academic A Levels are indeed dropping out in large numbers, around a third in some parts of the country. Next, the usual wrong explanation that there is too much focus on academic studies ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Leonard James: "Patrick you do get that pretty much everyone on the ground in schools considers the observations by Ofsted to be, at best, unreliable?..."

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Helen: Sara- the story of a gifted eighteen year old

Sara is just like anyone you know - a bright 18 year old, just left a great sixth form college with 3 top A's. Identified as gifted in primary, and all through secondary, popular with peers, on national and regional youth panels, got a POSBO for brilliant volunteering in projects with young people. Slight problem. Sara is sick of the education system ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Rebecca Hanson: "This is quit difficult to explain Helen but I'm going to give it a go and if it's not clear please ask. The world is a very high pressure place and people who engage with it with the intensity with which ......"

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Henry Stewart: How Stoke Newington School Outperforms Wellington College

The media often quotes headline exam results to show the supposed superiority of private schools. However a fair comparison is only possible if the intakes are similar. Within the state sector comparisons can be made with value added figures, but these aren't available for private schools. It is interesting then to compare a school from each sector. Wellington College is a ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Janet Downs: "Cognita schools - you are correct that school intake affects school performance. This was confirmed by a report from the Institute of Fiscal Studies last year: http://www.localschoolsnetwork.org.uk/2011/08/school-intake-governs-academic-achievement-says-ifs-report/ Unfortunately, the English state system is always being compared with the private sector to ......"

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Henry Stewart: State Sector Continues to Close the Gap with the Private Sector

The release of A level results show once again that the gap has narrowed between the state and private sectors. For the last decade at least the proportion of the highest grades coming from state schools has been gradually increasing. The percentage of state school A levels achieving an A or A* grade had risen from 22.2% in 2009 to 22.6% in ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Leonard James: "I take the point that the majority of students at grammar/selective school are likely to be high ability. I'm really having trouble describing my objections here - I think I'd be more convinced by the state does better at university ......"

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Francis Gilbert: Academics and teachers, have you met?

Reform would be smoother and more effective if you worked together, says Francis Gilbert in the TES Earlier this month, education secretary Michael Gove said that top academics should reform our A-level system, implying that only the elite Russell Group universities can stop the chronic "dumbing down" going on in our sixth forms. His announcement was on top of a survey ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Rebecca Hanson: "One of the best forums where schools, and politicians tend to discuss issues are WEF consultations, where people meet, friendships are forged and lengthy dialogues often begin. More about WEF here: https://www.ncetm.org.uk/community/thread/97905..."

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Ben Harrow: A-level reforms- asking the wrong questions?

After a long time, this is my first discussion thrown up here, so bear with me! I wanted to start a discussion about the prevalence and effect of re-takes in A-level exams today, and what might change if A-level reforms are brought in as a result of the Cambridge Assessment research, which I blogged about on Help Me Investigate Education) There are ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Ben Harrow: "Because I have a strong journalism background (including data work) and an A in A-level mathematics ^^. An employer in the know would realise that what you would study in a Mathematics degree would be completely irrelevant to manipulating data ......"

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Janet Downs: What are universities saying about A levels and undergraduate skills?

“We recognise in our department that students will experience a culture shock in moving from A levels to university and we try our best to help them make the transition from being spoon-fed to being able to design a spoon and then feed themselves!” said one respondent to a survey by Cambridge Assessment*. Lecturers from the Russell Group, University Alliance, Million ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Rebecca Hanson: "It's really taken off. One Cambridge Applicant I was doing practice interviews with had his with him in which he had derived the equations of relativity from scratch. I took two of my children to a show at our local ......"

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Henry Stewart: A Levels: State schools close the gap again

The percentage of A levels in state schools that are A* or A rose last year from 22.2% to 22.7%. This year it has risen again, to 23.4%. This appears not to have been due to 'grade inflation' as the proportion in private schools stayed the same at 50.8%. The figures are given in documents for 2010 and 2011 on the ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Nigel Ford: "I see that quite a few public school students who took the International Baccalaureate exam which is meant to be a superior and broader syllabus than A'levels have fallen short in attaining the required standards to access their chosen universities, ......"

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