Abandon Exams, Abandon Retakes?
This proposal would be a disaster. It is an attempt by the low achievers to discourage the high achievers and by the failures to discourage the average. The really high achievers will pass anyway. leaving the majority stressed and floundering.
Teachers will be diverted from encouraging the low achievers. The lower achievers are disappointed and who will be discouraged from taking exams. At school I was not allowed to sit subjects at O level because I failed them at the mock.
GCSE
Employers wanted the O levels replaced by GCSEs because if you are going to employ all 30 members of a class of school leavers you want to know who is top of the lowest 30 per cent so that they can be given a little extra help, while identifying those who are really at the lowest marks can help you decide not to employ people if you will expect too much and then sack them, ruining their job record, when you could be sending them for different training or jobs more suited to their ability or level in that area.
It also means your lowest achievers are not encouraged to continue and reach an acceptable level, so you have a country of 30 per cent unqualified people who cannot be employed in your country or overseas, idle hands encouraged to stay idle and maybe turn to the dole queue or crime instead of seeking further education and employment.
The Americans succeed in business because they continue education throughout their adult life. In the UK we have introduced refresher courses of 4 days a week in all fields, teaching, medicine, and this is the right attitude. My father of 93 was doing the refresher course exams which enabled him to be helpful as a volunteer at a local hospital.
Adult Education
An end to 'old wives' tales' of outdated information. Encourage teachers to teach everybody, of all ages.
Crammers
I went into schools in Singapore on a Saturday where a class was run for pupils who failed English O level mock exam. Most had non English speaking parents. With help and encouragement every girl (except one who was in hospital) got a pass.
Under my old school system in the UK, in which the school wanted to be high on the league table and re-takes were not encouraged, all those girls would have failed to get a qualification and more importantly would have failed to achieve a higher standard of speaking and writing English.
Teachers will be diverted from encouraging the low achievers. The lower achievers are disappointed and who will be discouraged from taking exams. At school I was not allowed to sit subjects at O level because I failed them at the mock.
GCSE
Employers wanted the O levels replaced by GCSEs because if you are going to employ all 30 members of a class of school leavers you want to know who is top of the lowest 30 per cent so that they can be given a little extra help, while identifying those who are really at the lowest marks can help you decide not to employ people if you will expect too much and then sack them, ruining their job record, when you could be sending them for different training or jobs more suited to their ability or level in that area.
It also means your lowest achievers are not encouraged to continue and reach an acceptable level, so you have a country of 30 per cent unqualified people who cannot be employed in your country or overseas, idle hands encouraged to stay idle and maybe turn to the dole queue or crime instead of seeking further education and employment.
The Americans succeed in business because they continue education throughout their adult life. In the UK we have introduced refresher courses of 4 days a week in all fields, teaching, medicine, and this is the right attitude. My father of 93 was doing the refresher course exams which enabled him to be helpful as a volunteer at a local hospital.
Adult Education
An end to 'old wives' tales' of outdated information. Encourage teachers to teach everybody, of all ages.
Crammers
I went into schools in Singapore on a Saturday where a class was run for pupils who failed English O level mock exam. Most had non English speaking parents. With help and encouragement every girl (except one who was in hospital) got a pass.
Under my old school system in the UK, in which the school wanted to be high on the league table and re-takes were not encouraged, all those girls would have failed to get a qualification and more importantly would have failed to achieve a higher standard of speaking and writing English.
Re-taking is not cheating. If you achieve the level, you achieve it.
If taking exams early or doing mock exams encourages pupils to work harder to achieve the success of a higher grade, that is good. High achievers and hard workers should be encouraged.
Matriculation
The original prewar matric system of all five subjects passed left many pupils leaving school with no qualifications at all. They hated school, learning skills, any institution and authority.
GCSE was brought in so employers could distinguish the better of five applicants of a job all of who has failed to achieve the distinction level of a GCSE pass. They wanted to know who was only just below the average and could be retrained and re-sit exams at company expense and who would need twice the time and money to be brought up to standard.
Pupils and workers who were not all rounders some had high levels of skill in one area.
Pupils and teachers will get depressed. Everybody should have the encouragement to try, try again and not be damned by their first failure. This is a disaster. GCSE was brought in to encourage those who did badly.
My school would not let me take exams unless I was likely to score highly. Result I dropped subjects which were needed for my education in life and further university entrance.
We need to encourage people to try, try, again. If Edison had not continued trying, none of us would be sitting here under electric light bulbs.
When I was teaching, pupils, parents and teachers could order past test papers. They came from the board which set the papers. Now you can buy books of test papers from major boo shops and online stores such as Amazon.
Pupils and workers who were not all rounders some had high levels of skill in one area.
Pupils and teachers will get depressed. Everybody should have the encouragement to try, try again and not be damned by their first failure. This is a disaster. GCSE was brought in to encourage those who did badly.
My school would not let me take exams unless I was likely to score highly. Result I dropped subjects which were needed for my education in life and further university entrance.
We need to encourage people to try, try, again. If Edison had not continued trying, none of us would be sitting here under electric light bulbs.
When I was teaching, pupils, parents and teachers could order past test papers. They came from the board which set the papers. Now you can buy books of test papers from major boo shops and online stores such as Amazon.
Useful Websites
https://www.amazon.com/Model-Test-Papers-Business-Systems/dp/818333380X
Angela Lansbury, English teacher and tutor.
Angela Lansbury, English teacher and tutor.
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