54% getting you an 'A' grade in A-Level Maths.

So 3 out of 10 got you an A? :rolleyes:

Scaling. I assume that there is a percentage of candidates who must get a particular grade (say, 10% get A). If the 1,000th highest scoring candidate out of 10,000 got 54%, then that's an A. It does suggest that whoever set the exam needs to re-evaluate their own standards but it is probably the most common method of moderation in education worldwide.

I'm pretty sure it was 80% = A in my day. 54% would have been a D.
Why do they need to lower the grades especially these days when the resources available to kids on the net etc shit on what we used to have or is that the problem ? Everything is available at the click of a mouse and no effort is needed ?

Exams and school in general was a piece of piss back in the day compared to now, according to pretty much every teacher I ever had.

Funny you say that, the general consensus is it's the other way around.

Then again, what do you consider "back in the day"? Turn of the millennium, or 1970's?

The last exam I took was to become a Certified Manufacturing Engineer. The pass mark was 60%.

I passed with 61%, and my boss failed with 59%.... excellent result!

That sounds like a universal rush to the bottom....

Could’ve been a bullshit way of reassuring us then! 70s mainly, most of my teachers at GCSE and A level were on the older side.

Well they should know.

To be honest I don't know, and I'm sure everyone will say their exams were harder than their parents/elders. (We said the same!)

I knew I shouldn't have got into this. Here goes:
1. It's inaccurate to believe either was harder. Historical exam problems placed a far greater emphasis on being able to memorise facts, write fluently and perform certain operations whereas modern exams are far more centered around applications of the skills. That's why a 1980s' Maths exam could be printed on a single piece of paper yet now it takes a small booklet. The problems are much wordier (requiring greater functional literacy) and require you to do the (for example) differentiation in the context of an actual situation.
2. Scaling was much more common back in the day because you never had to admit to it. (I assume it's the same in the UK as here - in the 1970s a student never saw the exam script after it was marked but today it is returned to them.) Before students got their exam papers back, it was not unusual for a result of 30% to be scaled up to 85%. There's a complicated formula which is used and was, in fact, part of the curriculum for New Zealand students studying scholarship (A level) Maths. Of course, the only number reported to the students and general public was the final, scaled percentage. However, subject teachers got to see markers' reports which included a discussion on the scaling. I remember reading them when I started teaching in the 1990s.
3. Statisticians who track these things do tell us that IQ scores are getting progressively, incrementally better. At least in part this is because the tests are starting to remove cultural biases that count against certain candidates but also because we are, apparently, over the course of decades, getting more intelligent. Hard to believe when you look at our leaders...

Dickheads that start there engines on the car deck of a ferry before it's even touched land.15 minutes next to a coach last night before we got off:jerkit:

People who are so thick they don't note where they have left there car on this ferry thing,or which stairs they should be using:wallbash:

Being back home after a cracking holiday:sob:

People who get there, they’re and their mixed up.....

:p

Yup, their idiots.

Your not wrong.

That's what my old A-Level Latin master used to tell me back in 1971! (He was a 50-year old asthmatic hunchback with one lung - true) "I was doing this for O-Level, boy!!" :D

Agreed. Surely you need consistency. How do prospective employers and the like know how evaluate an 'A' grade from one year to the next? Exams may well be a little harder/easier from one year to the next, but that was how the cookie crumbled.

I realise curricula have changed since my day in the dark ages, particularly in the sciences, but surely the fundamental building blocks of mathematics are largely constant? Dumbing-down at its finest. If it is not up to standard,surely it is not worth a pseudo 'A' grade?

:D

Sorry, but the real world disagrees.

I back handed a twat at Bilbao for doing that.

Ofcourse it’s possible for the maths content to have become harder and demand more depth.

My son’s taken maths GCSE this year and there was plenty of content that didn’t feature in my equivalent (and we’re both good at maths, so this isn’t just a whinge).

The maths A level has got harder and the Edexel exam board has received lots of criticism this year, especially re maths. It’s their fault if they’ve set an exam paper that is so much harder than other exam boards. Pupils mustn’t be disadvantaged because of this, especially if their university place might require that A grade.

A broader question being discussed is whether it’s wise that we have so many exam boards in this country. In my life no employer has ever asked which exam board my school used, as there’s an assumption they’re the same.

My spelling is a bit off,so feckin what.Mr feckin perfect:jerkit:

Nope Wedgie, it does not. While there is debate about why, when you compare the mean result of current IQ tests with historical ones, they are better now.

The debates about why center around several factors. First, as I mentioned, earlier, IQ tests were significantly culturally biased. For example, some were specifically used post WW1 to show that Irish were less intelligent than English, largely because they used idioms common in England but rare in Ireland. A second factor that some scientists argue is that we are getting better at taking tests.

However, both these support the idea IQ is static, not improving... and it's not the majority view. AS many researchers believe intelligence is increasing as staying the same. Absolutely no-one suggests that IQ is dropping. Yet, if you were to ask a middle aged person, they would tell you the youngies are the dummies. Why?

It's largely a trick of memory - or. more accurately, memory tricks. The first is that older people were very good at rote learning, which was a far greater emphasis back in the day. (My dad can rattle off the 17 times table like its the names of his grandkids.) Kids don't need instant recall anymore because they've got functional aids to do a lot of that for them. Instead, they are, as I said above, far better at working out how to use it than their forebears were at the same age. Which brings me to the second memory trick - as adults, we can often do what the kids can - apply the knowledge - but we forget that we learnt it later, so we don't recognise that they are ahead of us. The final trick is that if a kid comes home from school knowing something we don't, we pass it off as our failing memory, that it's been ages since we were at school, not their cleverness.

In other words, we forget how damn dumb we were at school.

Donating money to a charity, and that charity then using that money to send you endless shit in the post asking for more money.

Somebody needs a holiday... :rolleyes:

Its not spelling, its using the correct version. Mr Techypants

Nail on head... one of my pet peeves.

That and credit card companies soliciting to use their cards.

It makes you wonder what the Postal Service charges for mass mailing.. obviously it will be at a very much discounted “volume” rate... so in the US, ultimately it’s subsidized by the tax payer...
how to waste money in one easy lesson.

Couldn't care less how you put it,but people being smartarses over spelling,punctuation or "using the correct version" on a forum(or anywhere else come to that) are wankers.Not everyone has the same education and for some one sitting behind a keyboard and typing that bollox earlier is nothing better than a small dicked cunt.


I do hope that last sentence is understood by the educated smartasses on here.

Not convinced in the slightest by any of your points, particularly the bit about kids not needing instant recall, yes they have tech aids unavailable just a few decades ago but without the ability to retain mental images building complex mental structures will be difficult or unachievable.

Explain Love Island then.

:rolleyes:

Did you not see the :p ?

Just a light hearted jab mate, nowt to get your kammies jammed up about. I actually thought before I posted ‘Pie will get the jab’

No offence meant

Their was no need for it.

My sister in law just passed some medical exam with 46% as the pass mark was 40. I said to her hope I never get sick with the 54% of shit you don’t know about!!

there's an actual situation where you use differentiation?

If I'd known that I might have bothered to try and understand them!

Twats at Lords booing Smith when he went off injured.

VAR

Oooh, someone's tired.

::D

The BBS after a defeat. Some of the nonsense on GPC this afternoon is just so OTT and nasty with it. Yes, we were rubbish but these weird and nasty personal vendettas people have against SP and DF just cross the line.

Expect some anger after a performance like that surely

Indeed. I should know better than to get involved, really, but it can be very difficult not to.

Windsor_Eagle mentioned that he might have reached the point of no return (literally) and I'm beginning to feel a bit like that. We really do have some obnoxious scum on the BBS these days.

Same here.

I love this site and all it encompasses, until it comes to anything to do with Crystal Palace FC!

But not the antics of a petulant bunch of five year olds.


That really is annoying.

Misappropriation of the word 'embarassing' as in "this is embarrassing Palace". God knows how these people cope with truly embarrassing situations.

Trouble is it’s Like Brexit fatigue, we got relegation fatigue. Same every season and we should after this amount of time in the PL got a bit more established. Abuse has no place however but I’m getting just a little bit tired of the same stuff each week. Throw the youth team on. At least it would be entertaining!

people can care about more than one thing

Logical criticism I’m all for even if it differs widely from my point of view. Where we think we’ve gone wrong etc... But when it’s just malicious abuse at people who have really done an incredible job for our club then it grates.

Sure Parish himself welcomes criticism, but how would you feel if you were him, having put in the amount of work he has and achieved beyond expectations, to read the personal attacks and personal abuse and vile accusations on here?

No one’s saying he is beyond criticism, but there are ways to put it across, and some people need to reign it in because it’s just downright rude and so ungrateful.

Screaming "embarrassing" if something isn't going your way doesn't show you care. HTH

I never go near GPD for a few days after a defeat.

But it really is only 3 posters - they just seem to have access to a Vitriol Automated Response (VAR} system.

Hospitals.
I had a minor stroke on Friday (please feel sorry for me, everyone) and I'd forgotten how boring they are.

Also the word 'stroke.'
I've always had to stifle a chuckle when I've been on told so and so's had a stroke. A stroke of what?
Well I ain't f*cking chuckling now.

Well have some sympathy and some rep to make you feel better

How you can nail that whinge fest down to just three posters is impressive...are they Workshop, Penistone and HRP?

Modern people and their modern self absorbed lives. Took the children to the theatre on Sunday, at the start of the show you are told put your phones away filming not allowed etc etc Woman sitting infront of me started filming nearly straight away, stayed for about 20 minutes and left.
The bloke sitting next to her (not together) sent the whole tome looking at videos he had made of himself on his phone.

Man city who before kick off state they are best team in the world??? Dont think so.

Hope you are ok..take it easy :p

Very frightening. Hope it is not too serious and you are recovering well :p

Hope you’re better soon.

My mother had a stroke and recovered in a stroke unit. Initially I was a bit frustrated that they didn’t seem to be doing anything for her, but in time I realised they were giving nature the chance to heal itself. Which it mostly did and then she had physio to make further improvements.

So although you’re bored, think about how your body is actually very busy making itself better. You’ve had a stroke for a reason, so agree to the scans (the damage to my mum wasn’t clear for a few days) and try to rest. You want to reduce the probability of more.

At least you can read the matchday thread to cheer you up,

Oh dear sorry.

Get well soon, Coastal. Staying off here might help? Ceasing to listen to talk radio stations has certainly lowered my stress levels lately ;)

By "minor stroke" DYM a "transient ischaemic attack" (TIA)?

I got taken to hospital (well, Monklands) with a suspected one of these and they told me to take x y and z pills, and avoid driving, drinking, excercise and Palace until they had determined what it was. The next day the cardiologist summoned me and did all the tests again then announced that I was merely a fat pig with high blood pressure.

Yes, GPD is depressing, full of threads which are pretty similar.

Sorry to hear that Coastal, get well soon

Top poster

But still avoid Palace ...

Wan Bissaka in wanker colours.

So sorry young man. When I grew up they were hardware shops. Although in those days we did it ourselves. That's what it stands for by the way.
:wallbash:

How old are you then?

Ironmongers.

Not quite as old as John Sewell mate:supergrin:

Me old man called them waremongers so I s'pose it runs.

People who wear 'ear pods' whilst walking around the office.

Must......resist........must.....resist.....

I like it when people give you grand, magnanimous gesture of taking one out during conversation. "I mean, you're listening to Guetta in mono just to speak to little old me?" Gee what a sacrifice.
There's nothing these Millennials won't do for politeness, is there? :jerkit:

Door-to-door charity chuggers. They've just turned up mob-handed to blitz our street.


F*ck off - if I want to donate I will.

Getting an automated telemarketing call at 6:50am on the landline when still asleep... I needed to get up anyway, so not all bad.

People who somehow manage to break pub pool cues, whether that be the tip, rubber bumper, or just plain bending/snapping. I've played thousands of frames over 30+ years and never once got close to damaging one. My local now keeps them out the back, so you have to ask for them (and the cue ball, so bringing your own is no better) and pay a £10 deposit. Unless you're in for a best-of-19 who can be bothered?

Idiotic governments around the world. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-49406369
“You are free to use a banned pesticide to improve your crops”
.
.
.
.
“Sh1t the bees are all dead!”
:wallbash::jerkit:

Reminds me of the circus performer, 'The Human Fly'.
Very sadly found dead last week.
Police confirmed that he had committed insecticide.

Thank you very much for the best wishes. I got out today. It was a minor stroke but I've got to build the strength back in my arm and leg. That's what smoking can do to you. I do look good with a cane though.
And I watched the game with my boy on hospital tv. It didn't do the blood pressure much cop.
I'm just pleased my face didn't drop on one side as that would've been a crime against nature and it hasn't affected my speech or typing skillughfgfddcvgbnkl'[ojute3

I'm surprised your face didn't drop at all if you were watching that garbage.

Absolute f**k heads. Hope the idiots that sanctioned this get stung by irate insects every day of their pathetic lives.

I may have had posted a couple of sarky replys to some of your posts in the past mate but, as we all get older, l appreciate all the possible health issues we all face. Supporting who we do wont help but wishing you a speedy recovery. :p

Some guy was found dead in the street in our neighbourhood today, and the local paper report the police are saying underlying medical problems may have been the reason. The deceased could only be described as an elderly man in his 60s.

I guess as I hurtle towards 64 I am now officially an "elderly man"...

Annoys me, but probably not as much as the man found dead near us!

Fully agree. Do you feel elderly?I sure don’t. 80 is elderly not the 60’s.

People who take glasses (I.e. a drinking vessel made of glass) to the pool, despite there being clear signs saying ‘No glasses poolside’ - & then **** off & leave their empties behind.

Ignorant *****, twice.

Australian pronunciation of Labuschagne

The kids stealing the phone charger

Cricket...again. Apparently yesterday’s Ashes test was suspended because the weather was ‘gloomy’. GLOOMY! How can the pretence that this is a sport continue?! I then heard the guy on the radio declare that the match was to be delayed further for tea. Why the paying spectators didn’t do the decent thing and rip the stadium apart lord only knows.

I’ve always felt work shy working class folk go on the dole; idle middle class bods become cricketers.

The latest batch of the Nationwide ads with the so-called stand up comedians.
Is their ad firm purposely trying to make us hate them ?

My favorite was guarana. Properly pronounced gwa-ra-na with the a's as in bag. Aussie advert for some health drink stating "with goo-ah-rah-nah"

People using the phrases 'absolute scenes' or 'absolute state' for anything which is in some way uplifting for the former or in some way unappetising for the latter.

Please don't respond 'absolute state of that post'

People using the terms 'red ball cricket' & 'white ball cricket'. It's either:
First class, test cricket, limited overs/one day cricket or that dross 20/20 which isn't cricket and even worse the new 100.

Cricket.

To continue the cricket theme, I heard a lady commentator (sorry, don’t know her name) say that someone’s balling was ‘on point’.

I flipping hate that phrase, which tends to be used by the judges on shows such as Britain’s Got Talent or X Factor. Bad enough in that context, but at least they’re referring to someone’s performance in the arts.

Please don’t bring this cringy phrase into sports as well, especially not good ol’ cricket.

Maybe that’s old by Californian standards, because they’re used to people retiring to Florida or Palm Springs! :cool:

How come? Was he a bit of a knob?

On the plus side, senior's discounts.

Yes and no.

I don't know about in Canada, but they mainly kick in at 55 here, so well use to using that card.

Also I've noticed when booking hotels or flights etc. being a senior gets you no better a deal than belonging to the Automobile Club!