OK
2004-08-27 19:50:37 UTC
Cambridge to demand A-level percentage scores...
Looks like something is being done, and they are finally using the UMS
Marks...
Right now an A grade is an A grade, regardless of it being 481 out of 600
just 1 mark over an A grade or it being 570 out of 600 which only 1%
achieve....
here is an interesting article.... you ahve to login to the telegraph site,
so i will paste it here
Cambridge will be the first university in the country to use A-level marks
in addition to grades to distinguish between the growing number of students
who are awarded As, the Telegraph can reveal.
Candidates applying to the university this year will be obliged to supply
the scores out of 100 they achieved in each paper taken in the lower sixth
form, which count towards their A-levels.
Cambridge's decision highlights the difficulty faced by elite universities
in identifying the brightest applicants, in a week when students gained
171,639 A-grade passes, 22.4 per cent of the total. The A-level pass rate
was up for the 22nd consecutive year and has again led to accusations of
grade inflation and diluted standards
By demanding the more detailed information, Cambridge is pre-empting
proposals by exam boards and the Universities and Colleges Admissions
Service that they should supply marks as a matter of course to all
institutions.
Other reforms being considered by ministers include splitting the A-grade
into four subdivisions or forcing candidates to write a 4,000-word essay.
The 15,000 students applying to Cambridge courses beginning in 2005 will be
asked to list the marks they received in the three modules that make up an
AS-level, taken in the lower sixth. These AS-level results, when added to
the students' grades in the upper sixth, comprise the modern A-level.
Students who have taken their full A-levels will supply marks from all six
modules.
Geoff Parks, the director of admissions at Cambridge, said: "We are asking
all students to provide their module marks because it gives us a more
detailed idea of a candidate's achievement.
"It will tell us if a student is consistently gaining high As, or whether
they are getting, say, 80 on all modules and not putting in a particularly
stellar performance. It is about spotting patterns in a student's
achievement."
Dr Parks said that current A-grades masked big differences in performance
while more detailed scores could make the university look more favourably at
a candidate who had a B grade.
"If someone is getting 95 out of 100, but gets a high B in one module, we
could be more impressed than with someone who is just scraping an A across
all their modules," he said.
The decision by Cambridge will increase the pressure on students in lower
sixth to get the maximum possible score in their AS-levels.
Martin Stephen, the chairman of the Headmasters and Headmistresses'
Conference, which represents independent schools, praised the idea, saying:
"All the information necessary to select the top candidates is in the system
and the sooner it is used the better. We do not need a new exam system or an
extended essay. What professor would trust a 4,000-word essay in these days
of plagiarism and work bought off the internet?
"We should be congratulating Cambridge - it is right that it is leading the
way on this."
John Dunford, the general secretary of the Secondary Heads' Association,
said that using AS-level marks would be preferable to universities setting
their own tests, which a growing number of institutions are doing.
However, he said that "we don't want a situation where a student loses a
place on a mark. Also, can we really say that 86 per cent from one exam
board equates to 86 per cent from another?"
Applications to leading universities have seen big increases in recent
years. Many candidates have straight As, yet still face rejection. Last
year, Cambridge turned away 5,000 applicants who had three or more A-grades.
As the Telegraph revealed last month, the situation has forced the exam
watchdog to consider plans to release percentage marks to all universities.
Another proposal expected to be put forward by Mike Tomlinson, who heads the
Government's working group on secondary reform, is to split the A-level into
four.
Research by the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance exam board using
English literature results last year has shown that only one per cent of
candidates achieved scores above 570 out of 600 - which would be the highest
tier.
Some fear that splitting the A-level into tiers could devalue the B grade,
which accounted for 23.4 per cent of entries this year, making it the most
commonly awarded grade.
Oxford University is addressing the problem of grade inflation by
introducing tests in medicine, law and history. An English test is also
under discussion. A spokesman for the university said that at least 65 per
cent of next year's intake would have to take a test before or at interview.
Looks like something is being done, and they are finally using the UMS
Marks...
Right now an A grade is an A grade, regardless of it being 481 out of 600
just 1 mark over an A grade or it being 570 out of 600 which only 1%
achieve....
here is an interesting article.... you ahve to login to the telegraph site,
so i will paste it here
Cambridge will be the first university in the country to use A-level marks
in addition to grades to distinguish between the growing number of students
who are awarded As, the Telegraph can reveal.
Candidates applying to the university this year will be obliged to supply
the scores out of 100 they achieved in each paper taken in the lower sixth
form, which count towards their A-levels.
Cambridge's decision highlights the difficulty faced by elite universities
in identifying the brightest applicants, in a week when students gained
171,639 A-grade passes, 22.4 per cent of the total. The A-level pass rate
was up for the 22nd consecutive year and has again led to accusations of
grade inflation and diluted standards
By demanding the more detailed information, Cambridge is pre-empting
proposals by exam boards and the Universities and Colleges Admissions
Service that they should supply marks as a matter of course to all
institutions.
Other reforms being considered by ministers include splitting the A-grade
into four subdivisions or forcing candidates to write a 4,000-word essay.
The 15,000 students applying to Cambridge courses beginning in 2005 will be
asked to list the marks they received in the three modules that make up an
AS-level, taken in the lower sixth. These AS-level results, when added to
the students' grades in the upper sixth, comprise the modern A-level.
Students who have taken their full A-levels will supply marks from all six
modules.
Geoff Parks, the director of admissions at Cambridge, said: "We are asking
all students to provide their module marks because it gives us a more
detailed idea of a candidate's achievement.
"It will tell us if a student is consistently gaining high As, or whether
they are getting, say, 80 on all modules and not putting in a particularly
stellar performance. It is about spotting patterns in a student's
achievement."
Dr Parks said that current A-grades masked big differences in performance
while more detailed scores could make the university look more favourably at
a candidate who had a B grade.
"If someone is getting 95 out of 100, but gets a high B in one module, we
could be more impressed than with someone who is just scraping an A across
all their modules," he said.
The decision by Cambridge will increase the pressure on students in lower
sixth to get the maximum possible score in their AS-levels.
Martin Stephen, the chairman of the Headmasters and Headmistresses'
Conference, which represents independent schools, praised the idea, saying:
"All the information necessary to select the top candidates is in the system
and the sooner it is used the better. We do not need a new exam system or an
extended essay. What professor would trust a 4,000-word essay in these days
of plagiarism and work bought off the internet?
"We should be congratulating Cambridge - it is right that it is leading the
way on this."
John Dunford, the general secretary of the Secondary Heads' Association,
said that using AS-level marks would be preferable to universities setting
their own tests, which a growing number of institutions are doing.
However, he said that "we don't want a situation where a student loses a
place on a mark. Also, can we really say that 86 per cent from one exam
board equates to 86 per cent from another?"
Applications to leading universities have seen big increases in recent
years. Many candidates have straight As, yet still face rejection. Last
year, Cambridge turned away 5,000 applicants who had three or more A-grades.
As the Telegraph revealed last month, the situation has forced the exam
watchdog to consider plans to release percentage marks to all universities.
Another proposal expected to be put forward by Mike Tomlinson, who heads the
Government's working group on secondary reform, is to split the A-level into
four.
Research by the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance exam board using
English literature results last year has shown that only one per cent of
candidates achieved scores above 570 out of 600 - which would be the highest
tier.
Some fear that splitting the A-level into tiers could devalue the B grade,
which accounted for 23.4 per cent of entries this year, making it the most
commonly awarded grade.
Oxford University is addressing the problem of grade inflation by
introducing tests in medicine, law and history. An English test is also
under discussion. A spokesman for the university said that at least 65 per
cent of next year's intake would have to take a test before or at interview.