UK education and how it seems to have changed.

[astr0144]

UK education and how it seems to have changed.

I was thinking the other day or wondering what it may take to become a Doctor.

and what qualifications these days that they need to obtain.

I later then started to think about how some general education in the UK may have changed after seeing some ref to
some of the suggested recent results of students which I had to question, could they really be correct and justified.

and what I mean by that is... for eg... in the UK Basic general senior school students eventually take exams in their final year upto the age of 16 years old before they leave school or go onto further education.

As far back around 1951 the students would take what  was known as GCE "O' or known as Ordinary levels that I think was a standard examination for most students.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GCE_Ordinary_Level_(United_Kingdom)

but back then I also think that they had what was known as Basic type schools known as either as Boys or Girls or Comprehensive combined sex schools....  and also they had what was known as Grammer Schools which was for those who passed what was known as the 11 PLUS exam from Infant school upto the age of 11 years old.

Those that passed that exam got to go Grammer school that was or still is seen as a higher level school.

They at some stage also brought in whats known as Certificate of Secondary Education or CSE exams... that all schools could take at age 16 yrs old..and were seen as easier than the "O" Levels. but if you obtained the highest grade 1 result that was classed as an "O" level  grade C  ..... CSEs were graded from Grade 1 to Grade 5. or U for unclassified.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Certificate_of_Secondary_Education

The "O' Levels  were graded from what was described as A to E I think it was with a Grade A being the highest grade.. but anyone passing at a grade C or above... that was seen as a Good Grade.

So a pass at CSE grade 1 was the equivalent as a Grade C  "O" Level.

and back then... generally... it was seen as very good if you obtained a Grade C "O Level"

Generally less than 50% of people would obtain a "O"  level grade C or above...I believe at least to around 1987.

Then in 1987 they brought in another exam to replace CSEs  that became GCSEs..
and these were graded A to G....   again a Grade A to C was seen as the equivalent of the Old best "O" Level results.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Certificate_of_Secondary_Education

The GCSEs stayed standard from 1987 to 2017...

I wanted to try to find out how the pass rate statistics had altered over the years and to know on average how many students were now obtaining the higher level pass rates of A to C...

I found that back in 1987 that about 42 % of students obtained results of A to C.

Then upto 2017.... that has now risen to what I think is to 69 %.

and I sort of question WHY ?

I am aware that thru out the 1980s.... there was a huge recession in the UK and it destroyed many families.

and as time went on... it seems that the education system claims that the wanted to improve the results etc..

or they have also seemed to make students work much harder.. as the pressure on students to obtain decent jobs got much harder.


I am questioning if are the exams thru out these years all of the same standard...or have the maybe altered.

ie either got easier or harder or varied..

or are the students now cleverer than they used to be... or have they just worked much harder.

OR is it that in certain cases ... some students no matter how hard they may try .. can not really improve their results.  such as IF we do have limitations on our IQ levels... then it may not be possible to obtain higher level results...

so if thats the case and sort of set in stone for those of them levels.

I would have to question have they made exams easier if the results now such more students are obtaining higher results.

There is some charts that show the results over the years...that you can see in the link below about half way down.  Unfortunately I am unable and at the moment I have not manged to find a of copy it.. If I do later I will post it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Certificate_of_Secondary_Education

The other thing was also how many students were obtaining 5 good A to C ... GCSE passes
and again this is being shown as much higher than it used to be.

The GCSEs have changed yet again from 2018 where they now also seem to include even higher levels.

which included a A *  Star rating

https://newgcses.campaign.gov.uk/#:~:text=The%20new%20GCSE%20grading%20scale%20is%20not%20directly,is%20aligned%20with%20the%20bottom%20of%20grade%20G

BUT again I question the vality of these claims...

I know of people who have obatined very high passes... But Im rather doubtful that  they are that clever..

I am not saying that they are not reasonably clever... but I would I would doubt very few people would obtain the highest level.

this does show some result tables for GCSEs for differeing subjects for certain years.


This however I think is for an average of overall subject statistic results from 1988 to 2021.

then further below I also show for individual subjects for Maths and English results.

Percentage of candidates gaining grade     

                   9    8    7    6    5    4    3    2    1    U    9-4    Entries
TOTAL
           2021   7.4  9.1 12.0 14.5 17.1 16.8 12.1  6.8  3.2  1.0  76.9    5236858
           2020   6.3  8.1 11.5 14.8 17.4 17.8 14.2  6.8  2.7  0.4  75.9    5214030
           2019   4.5  6.7  9.4 13.4 16.6 16.4 17.3  9.5  4.5  1.7  67.0    5070481
           2018   4.3  6.5  9.4 13.2 16.8 16.6 17.7  9.5  4.4  1.6  66.8    4592138

           2018   4.3  6.5  9.5 13.2 16.8 16.6 17.6  9.5  4.4  1.6  66.9    4609830

                   A*   A    B    C    D    E    F    G    U   A*-C    A*-U
           2018   7.0 14.7 21.8 23.4 15.2  8.5  4.5  2.7  2.2  66.9  860246
           2017   7.1 14.2 20.6 23.5 16.8  9.3  4.7  2.3  1.5  65.3 3694771
           2016   6.5 14.0 21.4 25.0 16.9  8.3  4.2  2.1  1.6  66.9 5240796
           2015   6.6 14.6 22.1 25.7 16.4  7.6  3.7  1.9  1.4  69.0 5277604
           2014   6.7 14.6 21.9 25.6 16.3  7.6  3.8  2.0  1.5  68.8 5217573
           2013   6.8 14.5 21.5 25.3 16.6  8.0  4.1  2.0  1.2  68.1 5445324
           2012   7.3 15.1 21.7 25.3 15.9  7.7  4.1  1.9  1.0  69.4 5225288
           2011   7.8 15.4 21.7 24.9 15.1  7.8  4.1  2.0  1.2  69.8 5151970
           2010   7.5 15.1 20.6 25.9 15.9  7.8  4.0  1.9  1.3  69.1 5374490
           2009   7.1 14.5 19.9 25.6 16.5  8.5  4.4  2.1  1.4  67.1 5469260
           2008   6.8 13.9 19.8 25.2 16.6  9.1  4.7  2.3  1.6  65.7 5669077
           2007   6.4 13.1 18.6 25.2 17.2  9.8  5.3  2.4  2.0  63.3 5827319
           2006   6.3 12.8 18.3 25.0 17.3 10.2  5.6  2.6  1.9  62.4 5752152
           2005   5.9 12.5 18.0 24.8 17.3 10.5  6.0  2.8  2.2  61.2 5736505
           2004   5.6 11.8 17.3 24.5 17.3 11.3  6.6  3.2  2.4  59.2 5875373
           2003   5.1 11.6 17.3 24.1 17.7 11.7  6.8  3.3  2.4  58.1 5733487
           2002   5.0 11.4 17.4 24.1 18.1 12.0  6.7  3.2  2.1  57.9 5662382
           2001   4.9 11.2 16.9 24.1 18.3 12.1  7.1  3.3  2.1  57.1 5632936
           2000   4.6 11.2 17.0 23.8 18.4 12.5  7.2  3.2  2.1  56.6 5481920
           1999   4.4 10.8 16.9 23.7 18.7 12.7  7.5  3.3  2.0  55.8 5374751
           1998   4.1 10.6 16.5 23.6 18.6 13.2  7.6  3.5  2.3  54.8 5353095
           1997   3.6 10.5 18.1 22.3 18.7 13.3  8.5  3.6  1.5  54.4 5415176
           1996   3.4 10.3 18.0 22.3 18.6 13.4  8.7  3.8  1.5  54.0 5475872
           1995   3.2  9.9 17.8 22.1 18.6 14.0  9.0  3.9  1.5  53.0 5431625
           1994   2.8 10.2 18.0 21.8 18.7 13.7  9.3  4.1  1.5  52.8 5029599
           1993       12.5 15.9 23.1 18.6 14.2  9.3  4.4  1.8  51.5 4968634
           1992       12.3 15.3 22.9 18.6 14.7  9.9  4.7  1.6  50.5 5028554
           1991       11.4 14.7 22.4 18.6 15.0 10.5  5.3  2.2  48.5 4947593
           1990       10.8 14.4 22.5 18.7 15.3 10.6  5.2  2.5  47.7 5016547
           1989        9.9 13.8 21.9 19.0 15.8 11.2  5.6  2.9  45.6 5132998
           1988        8.4 12.8 20.7 19.3 16.6 12.5  6.3  3.4  41.9 5230047

this is an eg of Maths results and how the % of A to C grades have changed.

You can see in 1993 only 46% obtained a Grade C to A...
and in 2021 its now 69 %...

CAN there really be such a variation on such a scale... or has the exams been made easier ?

                   9    8    7    6    5    4    3    2    1    U    9-4    Entries
Maths
           2021   4.8  6.8  9.0 10.1 18.0 20.5 13.9  9.7  5.6  1.6   69.2    746880
           2020   4.2  6.2  8.5 10.1 16.5 20.9 17.9 10.4  4.6  0.7   66.4    749567
           2019   2.9  5.6  7.4  9.0 14.8 19.9 18.6 12.6  6.9  2.3   59.6    720098
           2018   2.9  5.4  7.4  9.4 15.2 19.4 18.6 12.8  6.6  2.3   59.7    692346

           2018   2.9  5.4  7.4  9.4 15.2 19.5 18.5 12.8  6.6  2.3   59.8    695034
           2017   3.5  6.5  9.3 10.6 18.2 20.8 13.1  9.5  6.4  2.1   68.9    568133

                   A*   A    B    C    D    E    F    G    U   A*-C    A*-U
           2018   8.2  8.7 14.7 23.8 17.6 11.3  4.5  4.0  7.2  55.4   52135
           2017   2.3  2.9  5.7 21.8 28.5 19.4  8.6  5.3  5.6  32.6  201901
           2016   5.7 10.2 16.6 28.5 19.2  8.5  4.6  3.2  3.5  61.0  757296
           2015   6.1 10.4 16.9 29.9 17.9  7.7  4.3  3.3  3.5  63.3  761230
           2014   5.4  9.8 16.8 30.4 16.5  8.1  5.2  3.8  4.0  62.4  736403
           2013   4.9  9.4 16.2 27.1 18.1 10.0  6.9  4.7  2.7  57.6  760170
           2012   5.5  9.9 14.7 28.3 18.1 10.1  7.2  4.4  1.8  58.4  675789
           2011   5.2 11.3 15.5 26.8 17.3 10.9  7.5  3.9  1.6  58.8  772944
           2010   5.0 11.2 16.0 26.2 18.1 10.7  7.3  3.8  1.7  58.4  762792
           2009   4.6 10.8 15.5 26.3 18.7 11.1  7.1  4.0  1.9  57.2  754738
           2008   4.6  9.9 16.2 25.6 18.1 11.6  7.6  3.8  2.6  56.3  738451
           2007   4.1  9.6 17.8 23.7 17.7 13.0  7.1  3.2  3.8  55.2  760299
           2006   4.2  9.0 17.6 23.5 18.1 13.3  7.3  3.2  3.8  54.3  750570
           2005   4.1  8.9 17.5 22.9 18.0 13.5  7.9  3.4  3.8  53.4  741422
           2004   4.2  7.6 17.5 22.4 17.9 14.5  8.3  3.6  4.0  51.7  741682
           2003   3.2  8.5 17.1 21.4 17.5 15.7  8.6  3.8  4.2  50.2  712830
           2002   3.6  8.3 17.6 21.8 17.9 15.1  8.3  3.8  3.6  51.3  709027
           2001   2.8  8.3 17.0 22.0 18.0 14.8  9.0  4.4  3.7  50.1  690704
           2000   2.8  7.9 16.6 21.9 17.9 15.6  9.1  4.3  3.9  49.2  673056
           1999   2.4  8.1 16.2 21.3 18.2 15.3  9.4  5.0  4.1  48.0  672950
           1998   2.1  7.8 15.7 21.4 17.4 16.3  9.2  5.1  5.2  47.0  670141
           1997   2.1  7.5 14.6 23.1 16.5 15.6 12.2  6.3  2.1  47.3  681265
           1996   2.0  7.0 14.3 23.2 16.4 15.8 12.6  6.5  2.2  46.5  691111
           1995   1.9  6.5 13.4 23.1 17.1 16.1 12.8  6.7  2.4  44.9  678445
           1994   1.8  6.7 15.8 22.0 17.2 15.5 12.5  6.3  2.2  46.3  640608
           1993        8.6 10.5 27.2 19.6 16.4 10.6  4.1  3.0  46.3  569259

This is English results..where there is not as much variation.and is only shown from 1993 rather than from 1987 for some reason... that has gone from as low as 56 % in 1997 to 73 % in 2021.

9    8    7    6    5    4    3    2    1    U    9-4    Entries
English
           2021   4.4  6.9 10.7 15.5 17.4 18.7 15.1  6.9  2.9  1.5   73.6    718539
           2020   3.4  5.6  9.6 14.9 17.3 20.3 19.6  6.9  2.0  0.4   71.1    738444
           2019   2.2  4.4  7.3 13.4 17.1 17.4 24.6  8.9  3.4  1.3   61.8    707059
           2018   2.0  4.1  7.8 13.4 17.3 17.4 24.6  9.1  3.2  1.1   62.0    682359

           2018   2.0  4.2  7.8 13.3 17.3 17.4 24.6  9.1  3.2  1.1   62.0    683838
           2017   2.2  4.5  7.9 14.8 18.6 17.0 21.7  8.9  3.3  1.1   64.9    632419

                   A*   A    B    C    D    E    F    G    U   A*-C    A*-U
           2018   3.7 11.6 19.9 23.0 22.5 10.1  5.0  3.0  1.2  58.2   49247
           2017   1.9  7.0 14.8 24.6 27.7 12.5  5.3  3.3  2.8  48.3  127858
           2016   3.3 10.4 19.9 26.6 22.3  9.7  3.8  2.0  2.1  60.2  513285
           2015   3.1 11.5 22.4 28.4 20.9  8.0  3.0  1.4  1.3  65.4  520524
           2014   3.6 10.7 20.1 27.3 22.9  9.1  3.6  1.6  1.1  61.7  515575
           2013   3.3 10.9 20.3 29.1 21.5  9.2  3.8  1.2  0.7  63.6  731153
           2012   3.4 11.6 20.6 28.5 20.9  9.4  3.8  1.2  0.7  64.1  669534
           2011   4.7 12.1 20.2 28.4 20.2  8.2  3.4  1.5  1.3  65.4  649553
           2010   4.3 11.7 20.1 28.6 20.0  8.6  3.6  1.7  1.4  64.7  705240
           2009   4.1 11.5 19.5 27.6 20.4  9.6  4.2  1.8  1.3  62.7  701196
           2008   4.0 11.5 20.1 27.3 19.8  9.9  4.3  1.8  1.3  62.9  721577
           2007   3.8 11.5 19.7 27.2 19.9 10.2  4.5  1.9  1.3  62.2  732293
           2006   3.9 11.3 19.4 27.0 20.0 10.2  4.8  2.0  1.4  61.6  721762
           2005   3.7 11.4 19.3 26.5 19.8 10.6  5.0  2.2  1.5  60.9  708569
           2004   3.6 11.1 18.6 26.6 19.8 10.7  5.5  2.4  1.7  59.9  688438
           2003   3.1 11.2 19.7 25.7 20.2 11.0  5.4  2.4  1.3  59.7  688438
           2002   2.8 10.7 19.8 26.2 20.4 11.3  5.4  2.2  1.2  59.5  667476
           2001   3.1 10.5 18.5 26.4 21.1 11.5  5.6  2.2  1.1  58.5  666793
           2000   2.9 10.3 19.0 26.4 20.8 11.8  5.6  2.2  1.0  58.6  647436
           1999   2.5  9.7 18.9 26.6 21.5 12.1  5.8  2.0  0.9  57.7  638018
           1998   2.4  9.1 17.9 27.1 21.6 12.4  6.3  2.3  1.0  56.5  637748
           1997   2.0  8.7 18.8 26.5 22.1 12.4  6.8  2.3  0.5  56.0  649559
           1996   2.0  9.0 19.3 26.5 21.8 11.9  6.7  2.3  0.5  56.8  663009
           1995   1.8  9.1 19.5 26.8 21.8 11.9  6.4  2.2  0.5  57.2  648987
           1994   1.8  8.9 20.1 27.6 20.6 11.2  7.5  1.9  0.4  58.4  605182
           1993       10.2 18.6 28.5 21.5 12.8  6.2  1.0  0.3  57.3  632793

THEN I NOTE SOME OF THE SCIENCE SUBJECTS WHICH GENERALLY WERE AT ONE SUGGESTED AS QUITE DIFFICULT FOR BIOLOGY .. CHEMISTRY and PHYSICS.


and what do we see...

Biology from about 60% upto 90 %

and Chemistry and Physics from about from 68/70%  upto 95%...

I FIND THAT VERY HARD TO BELIEVE that so many students are passing at such high levels in these subjects.

I believe Physics , and Biology were suggested as some of the hardest subjects a student can take.
as Maths can be as well

and the results suggest more higher passes...than Maths...

http://www.bstubbs.co.uk/gcse.htm


This is now the sort of thing that a Doctor needs to obtain..where they need at least 5 good higher GCSE level passes..which maybe well expected to be a Doctor level.

This seems now that they have to obtain this before they can consder taking further higher level exams such as
" A Levels" to University  Degree Level or higher


What GCSEs Do You Need to Become a Doctor?

What GCSEs Do You Need to Become a Doctor?

In GCSE by Think Student EditorSeptember 20, 20201 Comment

Becoming a Doctor takes lots of hard work and many years of specific training after Higher Education, but how will your GCSEs impact your opportunities in the field? Which subjects do you need and what grades should you be achieving in them? What other qualifications might you need to become a Doctor?

It seems likely that if you are researching the pathways to becoming a Doctor as early as the time that you are taking your GCSEs, that you are very motivated and focused, which will be beneficial to you if you would like to pursue Medicine as a career. In this article, I am going to explain which GCSEs you will need in order to become a Doctor, and how they will impact your academic path to becoming a Doctor.

If you want the short answer, here it is: In order to be able to become a Doctor, you will need at least 7 GCSEs, 5 of which will need to be at Grades 7-9. You will also need to have pass grades (at least) in Maths, English Language and either Triple (ideally) or Combined Science. However, it is important to note that these are simply minimum requirements, and Medicine is an incredibly competitive field, so ideally you want to aim for as many grades 7-9 as you can, and avoid achieving anything less than a grade 4 in any subject. It is also incredibly important that, as a minimum, you make sure that your GCSE grades mean that you can access the right A-Levels which will allow you to progress into your career as a Doctor.

https://thinkstudent.co.uk/what-gcses-do-you-need-to-become-a-doctor/

[ArMaP]

I don't think we can compare how things are to how things were, as the situations are much different and the subjects and exams can change from year to year.

In Portugal we have seen signs that the final secondary school exams are easier or harder according to how many places at the universities are available, to avoid having many students with a good exam result that are not able to enter university because they cannot get more students.

Also, the subjects and how they are presented to the students may turn a specific class from a class that needs more thought and reasoning into a class that students can go though successfully just with good memory.

[astr0144]

I agree with some of your comments....But..

I do think my analysis idea.. may offer some sort of guide as to how things seem to have altered or changed.

and could well question the reality of what could have occurred.

addmittely there are various factors...but I also think some things do not change that much.. or cannot be altered easily...

Seeing students in 2021 get very high results in the Science subjects that I may have added to the article since you replied..to me makes me question it.

I agree that methods have changed as to how they may go about presenting to the students etc
and in later years they started doing a lot more on course work to allow people to get better results IMO..

but the OLD "O" Level was much harder as it was Just an end of year exam..

and one really needed to know their stuff or be good at it to obtain the higher grades .

Now with GCSEs.. students can raise their quite a % on course work alone... which I dont think is as hard as an actual more indepth exam like the old "O"levels.

When I was at School, my favorite subject was Geography and I got a high grade in CSE..

but I also took the "O  Level and did very poorly.

The thing with the "O" Levels... the content of the questions were much more in depth..

some of the CSEs exams may had offered option to select...

but "O" Levels did not do that they wanted to write and write well as you also graded on the use of your english..
(Which at that time I was Poor at...)  and also they wanted you to think in more depth in your answers...so the
level was much harder IMO...

I don't think we can compare how things are to how things were, as the situations are much different and the subjects and exams can change from year to year.

In Portugal we have seen signs that the final secondary school exams are easier or harder according to how many places at the universities are available, to avoid having many students with a good exam result that are not able to enter university because they cannot get more students.

Also, the subjects and how they are presented to the students may turn a specific class from a class that needs more thought and reasoning into a class that students can go though successfully just with good memory.