In the news today. This is the pathway to becoming an Engineer for many and considered "equivalent" to having completed a skilled apprenticeship by the educational establishment.
On the subject of A levels, I saw an article today which discusses the A level maths paper and how pupils have passed it this year by getting just 14% of the questions right.
To get an A grade, pupils needed to get 55% of the answers right, 45% for a B, and 34% to get a grade C (for comparison, last year the old A level had a pass mark of 40%, with 80% correct answers required to achieve an A grade). Some have said that the inclusion of "more challenging content" has made the new-style exams a better preparation for university, but if people can pass their exam by getting 86% of the answers wrong, it doesn't strike me as being the best foundation for future academic success. If exam pass marks are this low, I think that some employers may question in future the meaningfulness of the qualification and, unless this is addressed, may subsequently prefer alternative qualifications or experience as a means of proving a candidate's understanding or ability.
On the subject of A levels, I saw an article today which discusses the A level maths paper and how pupils have passed it this year by getting just 14% of the questions right.
To get an A grade, pupils needed to get 55% of the answers right, 45% for a B, and 34% to get a grade C (for comparison, last year the old A level had a pass mark of 40%, with 80% correct answers required to achieve an A grade). Some have said that the inclusion of "more challenging content" has made the new-style exams a better preparation for university, but if people can pass their exam by getting 86% of the answers wrong, it doesn't strike me as being the best foundation for future academic success. If exam pass marks are this low, I think that some employers may question in future the meaningfulness of the qualification and, unless this is addressed, may subsequently prefer alternative qualifications or experience as a means of proving a candidate's understanding or ability.
