What do you make of Education Secretary, Michael Gove's decision to bring back the traditional two-year A levels and end-of-course exams?
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17 comments:
Let's just say I am super glad I am getting done with Year 13 this year. That's just too much pressure at the end of two years. I'd rather divide it between the years.
XYZ, please log in with your name and not a pseudonym.
Personally speaking, my sister has had hindsight with this situation, and from what I hear, it was a great decision to split the A-level exams into two years.
Alot of people don't realize that you're actually taking alot of basic level college courses in A-levels. Most universities allow you to skip alot of your first year courses if you've done A-levels - so you can imagine the level of difficulty. Having said that, when A-levels is jammed up into one year, alot of students take on alot of pressure and still end up performing below average. If the student hasn't done well, they would've wasted an entire year doing A-levels, because they would have to retake the courses in their first year of uni. By splitting it into two years, students are able to perform much, much better, and this saves them alot of money + time + energy, and it also takes it easy on them in uni. Let's face it, having to leave home already takes a toll on most of us.
I think overall, splitting the exams into two years was the ideal option on most grounds.
It's about time Michael Goves got fired or something - Why on earth is such a seemingly close-minded and old fashioned man in charge of something so significant? Whilst our world is rapidly advancing and transforming, people like Michael Goves should be preparing us for the challenges that lay ahead and not for the challenges of the 1950's. He could make a proposal to make the syllabus more interactive ... more relevant to today's education but instead he chooses to narrow students' options. Why, I don't understand.
Personally I don't think it makes sense- like Raya said, it's a step backwards, not forward.
Breaking down the course into 2 years gives students a chance to structure their learning, save valuable time, and the ability to divide our concentration. Expecting students to cram everything they've learnt in 2 years and answer just one set of exams at the end is putting a lot of unneeded pressure and duress on students.
A levels are basically a pre-university diploma. To be able to prepare us properly for our future university degrees, it makes more sense to follow the kind of pattern that we'd be following at university (exams at the end of each year)
Oh, that's just ridiculous. I agree with the first commenter - I'm so glad I'm leaving high school this year because the A Levels are very quickly becoming obsolete if they keep on going this way.
Students have a hard enough time dealing with school as is. Bringing back the traditional two-year A Levels is going to make it all the more worse.
they need to realize the pressure that the students are under with the divide, and try to help out the situation not make it worse.
they should also consider the students who are not planning to attend year 13 either their parents can't pay the fees for another year or they simply want to go to college.
I would really prefer the system we have right now. Writing exams for 2 whole years at once is just too much pressure, also a waste of a whole year, in my opinion. Why stretch it out when students are able to do it in one year?
I think its an individuals choice if they'd like to learn what they can in a year in the system we have today, or if they would like to split it into two. A-levels, as we all know is mind boggling along with a lot of pressure. It is such a high jump from IGCSE's that it would only depend on our capacity of learning and how capable we each are of grasping so much information at one go. Some people may find it highly difficult to do it all in a year, whilst others could manage.
In my opinion, I think the way the system is now is just fine. Completing A-levels in a year is time saving as well as a financially stable option.
I wouldn't be for it. Definitely a step backwards. After watching all those TED videos on how we should change education completely this just seems silly to me.
It would too much pressure on the students and just close down the time they have. However instead of discussing the lenght of the exams like Raya said we should be concentrating on making the syllabus more interactive and more relevant to today's education.
To be honest its not like the educational system at the moment is the best as it is , taking this step as others have mentioned in the posts above would most definitely be taking a step backward furthermore the pressure on students regarding their studies and goals to achieve high grades would increase alot more moreover not only is it pressure on students but on parents and guardians as well who may not be able to afford it or would initially not be planning on making their child study an extra year, and as Marwan mentioned, after watching all those great inspirational ted talks on improving and changing the educational system a step like this just seems ridiculous.
I can see Michael Goves perspective in this in which, he tries to strengthen the maturity level and intellectual understanding of topics in students in preparation for vigorous tertiary education. He is trying to strengthen the accreditation of students as the full A level certificate in itself is a very powerful educational reference for a student to have. Whether the apply to a university or not.
However, I do agree that this decision was clearly not made in the best interest of the students themselves in terms of the restriction of future and career options it offers.
Well i think the difference is that kt would "seem" harder for some people and "easier" for other people, for me it doesnt make that much difference but i see what he tries to do,which is strengthen the education of the youngsters to prepare them for the hard future that is awaiting.
I do not agree with him at all. I agree with Raya, it's going back in time, while the rest of the world is advancing. It would be so much harder for students if they were to do it all in one year. The students would be under too much pressure, and that would lead to them not performing well as a result. For a student, AS level is as good of a qualification as A level, of course to an extent, but none the less, just as good. Students will have the option to choose whether they would link to do two years, or one, depending on what they're university requires. As maybe, doing two years would just be a waste for them if they will be repeating majority of the stuff in their first year.
This is just so tedious and after 2 years of igcse and then again two years of as level just very stressful and plus as level is so tough i dont think this is very good idea
I think that this an absurd reason to change the educational system for the next generations to come. If this new school system has been pushed through, then it will be harder for students who will want to enter universities as well as wasting another two whole years in high school. I feel that the school system should be as it is because everyone is used to taking exams by the end of each year and also why exams are needed is to see the student’s performance so that when the feedback has been received, they can improve on their mistakes to prepare for the next.
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