I am not. All freshly defuzzed last night, thank you very much.
It's my mother fucking wedding anniversary today! One whole year. Doesn't seem like it at all.
Anhway, that's my news. How about you lovely shiny people? How are you all today?

Alt: I always liked exams. I tend to perform much better in them than coursework. What they could do, though, is take all the results in Britain, and the top ten percent of students get an A, the next ten percent get a B, etc. that way you know your grade is relative to everyone else's.
( b3th Not shit. Not mod., Thu 18 Aug 2011, 13:45, 6 replies, latest was 14 years ago)

Congrats, woo!
I have chocolate hobnobs, today is a good day.

How are you?

Also, isn't your Alt just a more advanced bell curve?
( Agnostic Antichrist Baltimora, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 13:46, Reply)

Ice Cube's utterly gay lyric, rejected by his label

( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 13:48, Reply)

Totally.
Chocolate hobnobs are for poofs.
( b3th Not shit. Not mod., Thu 18 Aug 2011, 13:49, Reply)

You are sick and wrong.
Also, Vipros touches kids.
( Agnostic Antichrist Baltimora, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 13:51, Reply)

^this

( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 13:51, Reply)

I was thinking something along the lines of your alt answer only this morning
but then I thought it'd be better to ignore whatever anyone got and just call them all wankers instead.
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 13:47, Reply)

Congrats pal.

( SteveFrench Cardio is for homo's. do you even lift bro?, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 13:47, Reply)

Of that year,
grades have to be comparable to other years, or they have no real meaning.
At the moment the grades are based on the ability to prove knowlege from the curiculum. Which is the only real way to do it.
(PsychoChomp, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 13:49, Reply)

But but but
Do folks really get smarter from year to year? I think that's very unlikely. Statistically, each year's entry (assuming it's large enough) are going to be the same, aren't they? Grades assigned on a statistical basis sound very comparable to me.
(BrianHequator was stretching owls, on, or around, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 13:53, Reply)

I'm inclined to agree
(And based on the three consecutive years in which I taught, I think the opposite might be more likely...)

Edit: Also, while you're about, just wanted to thank you very kindly for that jar of chimichurri. It's magnificent - the ageing process seems to have developed it quite considerably!
(LongJohnBaldry, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 13:54, Reply)

mmmm, chimichurri
I need to make more of that
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 13:56, Reply)

I need some too. Fookin' NOM.

( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 13:59, Reply)

I'm not entirely sure I still have the recipe
it's probably in my gazbox if I can be arsed to look
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 14:00, Reply)

If you're about in teh Smoke for a pint, I'll bring a jar of mine along - share and enjoy, what?
A 50-50 blend of aged and fresh-made is exceptionally nice, it turns out.
(BrianHequator was stretching owls, on, or around, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 14:03, Reply)

I reckon if you took a scoop out of the top of a tomato
and then baked it with a spoonful of the old chimmers in there, it'd taste pretty decent.
( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 14:00, Reply)

what about if you did that with a red pepper
and also included minced beef?
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 14:01, Reply)

Even better.

( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 14:02, Reply)

Now top with cheese, eat, then masturbate.

( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 14:03, Reply)

does it have to be in that order?

( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 14:04, Reply)

I'm afraid so, yes.

( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 14:07, Reply)

and some haloumi with peppers in it.

( SteveFrench Cardio is for homo's. do you even lift bro?, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 14:03, Reply)

I remember setting some First Year exams at University.
You get a spec effectively telling you how the grades should be normalised (mean 55% and SD to be adjused such that ~10% of students are graded A at 70%+) and the rest takes care of itself, really.

Glad you liked the chimichurri - I've taken to making it in ~2L batches and sticking it in a catering-sized pickled onion jar to age!
(BrianHequator was stretching owls, on, or around, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 14:01, Reply)

But everyone knows the exams are getting easier, so each year the grades count for less.

( b3th Not shit. Not mod., Thu 18 Aug 2011, 13:53, Reply)

it's more likely that the teaching is designed more to answer the exam questions
rather than the exam questions being designed to test what has been learned.

As much as I may belittle everyone possible for being stupid, I don't think that on the whole people are getting stupider, or really that exams are getting that much easier
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 13:55, Reply)

This is exactly true
And I was just saying the very same thing to mr b3th. I couldn't answer one of his O Level papers, and he couldn't do a GCSE paper. you're not taught to know the subject, you're taught to pass the exam.
( b3th Not shit. Not mod., Thu 18 Aug 2011, 14:00, Reply)

It's amazing how no one ever considered the teaching might be getting better.
I'm not saying it is but it would be an interesting counter argument.
( SteveFrench Cardio is for homo's. do you even lift bro?, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 14:02, Reply)

I know quite a few teachers
the teaching isn't getting better.

mind you, the teaching at my school was pretty shit from what I remember
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 14:03, Reply)

I would agree seeing some of the spastics on my course.
I had a handful of excellent teachers and a boat load of utter twunts.
( SteveFrench Cardio is for homo's. do you even lift bro?, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 14:04, Reply)

It is, as are learning materials, after school programs, online mock exams, tutoring etc etc etc

(PsychoChomp, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 14:05, Reply)

why are kids so bloody stupid then?

( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 14:06, Reply)

but they are just teaching kids to pass exams not the subjects.

( SteveFrench Cardio is for homo's. do you even lift bro?, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 14:08, Reply)

I saw this at uni
I knew one girl who would consistently score highest in the exams. she got 99% in one geotechnical engineering paper.

I met some people who worked with her on site after uni and apparently she was almost completely fucking useless in every way.

she used to idly paddle the pink canoe in lectures and the library though.
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 14:09, Reply)

Well yes, but you pass a maths exam not by memorizing every possible answer to a quadratic equation
you pass it by knowing how to solve a quadratic equation.
(PsychoChomp, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 14:09, Reply)

maths is a bit different
but even with mechanics you can learn the type of question that is going to come up and practice various permutations of that.
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 14:11, Reply)

But if that's the case why not include more skill based, or vocational subjects for learners?
There should be loads more academies and apprenticeship type places available in my opinion. I agree with what you are saying but also with Brianhequator that it isn't the best way.
( SteveFrench Cardio is for homo's. do you even lift bro?, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 14:14, Reply)

There is a dire need for good apprenticeships.
Especially in the engineering industry. My dad has problems finding good young engineers when we advertise.
( girlinthehole, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 14:17, Reply)

it just seems the obvious choice, more and more kids are disillusioned at school
and fail so give them the option to try something hands on that will give them more options than a call centre.
( SteveFrench Cardio is for homo's. do you even lift bro?, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 14:19, Reply)

won't give them a stick up the arse about not being able to get a job
despite their BA in Media
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 14:20, Reply)

Errr
We recently had four lads coming in for interviews for apprenticeships here.

Not one of the idle little cunts even turned up.
( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 14:23, Reply)

that's because they looked you up on the internet
and found that you were a colossal nonce
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 14:26, Reply)

that's because they all know about the
"lanky nonce with the silly music" who works there.
( SteveFrench Cardio is for homo's. do you even lift bro?, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 14:27, Reply)

I think as b3th says it's getting better for the purposes of passing the current set of exams.
It's a really tricky subject, particularly when schools compete based on league tables so are less likely to enter less-able pupils, and then exam boards compete by selling exams that may be easier for certain candidates to deal with (although they're not really supposed to do that).

It boils down to the fact that assessment needs to be done somehow, but for what purpose? Surely, exam results aren't really supposed to make little Johnny or Jane feel better about themselves - they are (at best) indicators of (a) what you know, (b) what you can do, and - maybe most important - (c) how well you can learn other stuff.
(BrianHequator was stretching owls, on, or around, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 14:06, Reply)

completely agree but cannot think of a suitable alternative to what is already in place.

( SteveFrench Cardio is for homo's. do you even lift bro?, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 14:08, Reply)

and d) if you're up for a bit of no-questions-asked noncery round the back of the PE block.

( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 14:11, Reply)

Well, I never went to no posh school like you, Monters. Comprehensive lad, me.

(BrianHequator was stretching owls, on, or around, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 14:16, Reply)

It's what built the Empire.

( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 14:22, Reply)

Getting lashed down and sodomised with a rum bottle, eh? Ah, halcyon days ...

(BrianHequator was stretching owls, on, or around, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 14:23, Reply)

No they aren't there is no evidence of that at all
Every single piece of evidence shows that kids are getting smarter and teaching is getting better. Only the media and commentators say otherwise constantly justified with the shout of "it's common sense" or "everyone knows".

Everyone knew that women shouldn't drive, everyone knew that witches could curse you. Fucking stupid retarded medieval bollocks, there is evidence there is actual data look at it don't just tell me what you reckon.
b3th not aimed at you, aimed at the world at general.
(PsychoChomp, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 14:04, Reply)

pfft, you can prove anything with 'evidence'

( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 14:05, Reply)

Everyone knows you're a bender.

( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 14:08, Reply)

I'm not entirely sure about that.
Say you're a scientist, and you're marking papers each year, in the third year, as a scientist, you would know more and be better at scientsting than you were on the first year. So, by compairson, the knowledge required for the test seems less and less compaired to your personal knowledge.
( G/PP 💩💩💩💩💩&#128, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 14:13, Reply)

you are assuming that knowledge and ability increases with time
this does not seem to be the case with a lot of people I've met, and certain organisations
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 14:14, Reply)

I can't imagine anyone who's knowledge or ability goes down over time, when they've spent a considrable portion of that time doing the subject in question

( G/PP 💩💩💩💩💩&#128, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 14:24, Reply)

when on secondment I was told by one of the senior guys there
that everyone who joins gets rapidly deskilled. You might be brilliant when you start, but the organisation is so shit that everyone loses the ability to actually do anything.
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 14:25, Reply)

Who won the sweep that Mr b3th would ever last that long?

( Light In Chains maker of the ikea sofa, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 13:55, Reply)

Not me, that's for sure.

( b3th Not shit. Not mod., Thu 18 Aug 2011, 14:02, Reply)

Haha!

( girlinthehole, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 14:02, Reply)

Hiya
I, like, owe you money and stuff.

Congratulations. Apparently I got you a card.
( djtrialprice, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 13:57, Reply)

Yay for Roota.

( girlinthehole, Thu 18 Aug 2011, 14:03, Reply)