I think the difference is these days, there are more kids on both ends of the spectrum.
Say, 40 years ago,the ratio of clever:average:thick was 15:70:15, whereas today its more like 30:40:30, and the top 30% are the quieter types, so the thicko band get noticed more by adults.
So the pass rate is rising, but there are also more thick kids. So there probably are more genii, we're just being obscured to a greater degree.
(888777555, Thu 25 Aug 2011, 20:19, 1 reply, 15 years ago)

No, you're jsut being coached better to pass exams
Teaching is improving, but only in the sense that you're being taught better how to pass an exam.
(Bazongaloid, Thu 25 Aug 2011, 20:23, Reply)

I'd agree with this
there's less indepth knowledge of a subject and the exams are definitely easier.
( Amberl was stripey and dominated Europe, Thu 25 Aug 2011, 20:24, Reply)

Maybe the top 70% find it easier to pass but the bottom 30% hardly have any qualifications, and whats worse unlike their parents they have no profitable practical skills.
Apart from one C in of the more mocked subjects.
(888777555, Thu 25 Aug 2011, 20:26, Reply)

I don't know if they're easier
but you're better trained how to do it.

I don't think there is any way of measuring peoples common sense though, which is something that is far more important in a working environment.
(Bazongaloid, Thu 25 Aug 2011, 20:26, Reply)

On older maths and science papers, you'd get long questions which awarded 20-30 marks,
and the idea of these was to set a simple-looking but inherently complex problem, make the candidates figure out how to solve it themselves, and use the question to test the candidates' problem-solving skills. But because these questions often led to low marks, they are becoming increasingly rare.
( The Mock TurtIe ™ --- Thinks you are a cunt, on, Thu 25 Aug 2011, 20:31, Reply)

I'm not so sure
our teachers did that joke thing of giving us past papers from quite a few years before and they were substantially harder than the ones we had.
( Amberl was stripey and dominated Europe, Thu 25 Aug 2011, 20:37, Reply)

Because the questions were often written in a different way
or covering slightly different things, that you hadn't been taught how to address.
(Bazongaloid, Thu 25 Aug 2011, 20:43, Reply)

Perhaps
the papers certainly seemed harder, and I was relatively smart.
( Amberl was stripey and dominated Europe, Thu 25 Aug 2011, 20:46, Reply)

I got straight A's through my GCSEs and A levels and a first, so I'm quite happy to say I'm good at doing exams
but as I said, when you look at older papers set under a slightly different curiculum they appear "hard" to me, because I hadn't learnt how to answer those questions. Had I been taught how to answer those questions I doubt I would have found them hard.
(Bazongaloid, Thu 25 Aug 2011, 20:50, Reply)

^this
Edit: it's a bit monkey see monkey do.
(Set your faces to Stunned Bigly, Thu 25 Aug 2011, 20:25, Reply)

This was my problem at school, my ability to memorise things without understanding the logic behind them has always been bad.
My motivation and behaviour were even worse.
( The Mock TurtIe ™ --- Thinks you are a cunt, on, Thu 25 Aug 2011, 20:32, Reply)

Merit is SUCH a 20th century value, darling.

( The Mock TurtIe ™ --- Thinks you are a cunt, on, Thu 25 Aug 2011, 20:26, Reply)

This is true in the short term Al.
Then Bobby will qualify.
( JeffTheDogFucker Can you dig it?, Thu 25 Aug 2011, 20:26, Reply)

There are always outliers

(Bazongaloid, Thu 25 Aug 2011, 20:27, Reply)