Results

[Robbo]

On the 24th of August i get my results of my GCSE's (dont know what they are called in america so ill explain)

Basically these are the results i have been working up to since i was 4 so 12 years and for the college i want to go i need at least 5 C grades and im quite nervous. In my younger years i was a naughty child so i didnt do well in school but i tried hard the past two years and learned my lesson now i have large doubts about my results.

And that got me thinking that if people are prepared to share their results from school i would like to know them just out of curiousity.

Thanks, Mark

[loaf]

SATs? What we call the test to get into College here in America. I never took mine...I go to a trade school to earn my degrees.

[Robbo]

No we do have SATs in england though only we do them when we are 13-14 depending when your birthday is. Ooh also the subjects i took were:

Media Studies
Business Studies
Religious Education
Science OCR
English Language
Maths( i have a confirmed C in Woo!)
Construction(large mistake)
ICT(definitely failed)

[loaf]

Oh then like Proficiency Exams? I had to do Math and Reading, later school years had to take Science as well. You have to take these exams and have to pass them in order to graduate High School. Those are the only 2 types of tests we take...at least here in Nevada.

[Unknown Entity]

We have SATs over here. I took mine in Year 6 (about eleven years old) when I left primary school, and again in Year 9 (about 14 years old). They determine which classes you'll be in for the start of secondary school, and for GCSEs. Say, for instance, you got a 2 in Year 6 Maths SATs - you wouldn't be put in the highest group when you got to secondary school. And... same for English and Science.

GCSEs pretty much just help you get into college, and determine which level course you'll be doing. I was pretty lucky with this; my college wanted me to get a B in Maths to take the Level 3 course, but I got a C... BUT they still let me on the L3 course because of numbers/I got a high C. xD;

Back in 2008, I got four B's in English Language, Resistant Materials, Religious Education (my favourite lesson, so I was HAPPY), and Drama. Five C's in English Literature, Science, Applied Science, Maths, and Art, and one D in Spanish. Not too bad. Although, it's pretty funny that I couldn't even remember my results - I just had to look at the certificates. xD;

But yeah. I wish you well with your results, and for everyone else that took them! Don't be nervous. ^^

[Alpha]

It's really easy to get into university in New Zealand. In your final year of high school, you sit one qualification, but two things come out of it. The first is University Entrance (UE), which, for the most part (as it depends on one's subjects -- not all subjects go toward this qualification), is easier to get. This is because each subject is broken down into different assessments, both internal (assignments, tests) and external (exams). Each assessment grants you a certain number of 'credits' (say, 4 credits for passing one part of your maths exam -- maybe trigonometry). UE requires fewer credits than the other qualification. The other qualification is known as NCEA Level 3 (NCEA standing for National Certificate in Educational Achievement).

I never failed anything I sat at secondary school, so I got those no problem. The qualification one earns is then made more detailed by the fact that you can pass to different extents -- like the A, B, C, D, E, F thing I'm guessing they have in most places. Here we have E (Achieved with 'Excellence'), M ('Achieved with Merit'), A (just 'Achieved'), or NA (Not Achieved; which is the PC way of saying that you failed).

You can get an NCEA level 'with Excellence' or 'with Merit' if you pass enough assessments and get an Excellence or a Merit. For example, to get NCEA Level 3 with Excellence, you need 50 credits at an Excellence level.

Most people sit around 150 credits, so there's ample opportunity. I ended up getting around 75 credits at Excellence, which was good. I studied History, English, Economics, Geography, Religious Education, and Mathematics with Statistics.

Then there's another level yet again, which is technically not a qualification, but most treat it as such. It's known just as 'Scholarship'. So in addition to what I was studying, I was also studying Scholarship History, Statistics, and Geography. It's the same material, but applied at a higher level, and requires you to think critically, and to actually do research. Basically it's a bridge between high school and first year university (though I'd argue the latter is actually easier).

It's not enough just to be good at your subject though, as the scholarships are awarded to a percentile: 5% of the candidates must get Scholarship; so scores are compared and then the number of people who got higher than the 5% threshold are awarded. It's a national examination. I failed the Scholarship Statistics exam miserably, but got it for Geography, and got an 'Outstanding Scholarship' (top 1%) for History.

If you ever want to know about the gendered history of England during the Tudor-Stuart period, I'm the man to ask; that was the essay of my life.

Scholarship exams are for money: $500 and $1000 for Scholarship and OS. Much more for getting three or more scholarships ($10,000 for three Outstanding Scholarships).

Man this is such a long post for stuff no one cares about.

All I know is, they shouldn't streamline classes like they seem to (on the basis of previous posts) do in the UK. That's not fair: everyone learns at different paces and in different ways, and is just going to entrench disadvantage.

[winterborn86]

I didn't do too well in my GCSE's, This is from what I can remember.

ICT Intimidate which I passed and my treacher said is the equivalent to 4 C grades.

Art - C

Math - E

Science Biology - C

Science Physics - E

Science Chemisty - E

English lit - D

English Grammer - F Might have something to do with my txt slang that popped in instead of the proper words)

English Media - E

Design Technology Graphic - G (I just pretend that doesn't exist I didn't want to take DT Graphic as a GCSE in the 1st place, didn't have a choice)

Geography - E (Which I was pleased with, my teacher was expecting me too fail and so was I, pretty big achievement for me)

Thats all I can remember doing

I'm actually going to be re-taking Lit and Maths again, I joined an adult education class to work on getting a level 1 qualification in both, not sure what grade the equals too tho and after I sit the exam at the end of the course if I do well I tcan work on Level two so get a higher grade

[Aerif]

Oh yay, I never miss an opportunity to talk about the Scottish qualification system!

DIAGRAM:


Firstly, can I say that quite a number of people in Scotland also do A-Levels alongside their high school education and a few do American SATs (well, those who want to study in the USA do).

Also, statistically in terms of difficulty:

Advanced Highers (SCQF 7) >> A-Levels > Highers (SCQF 6) > SAT II > SAT I > Standard Grades (SCQF3-5) >> GCSEs

Although Standard Grades vs. GCSEs is a funny subject, it's generally accepted that Adv. Highers are worth more than A-Levels, even in England.

And English SATs are completely different tests from American SATs

---
In a pupil's third year of high school (10th Grade? - They're usually about 13 or 14), they begin studying either 8 (more or less) Standard Grades or Intermediate exams (on the diagram it's SCQF 3-5). At the end of the fourth year (11th Grade?) they sit these exams which are in three levels, each doing either 'General + Foundation' or 'General + Credit'.

These exams are graded over the summer months (they're done standardly, every person sitting them does them at the same time) and the results are sent out in the post in August.

The results they're given are made up from various elements in the course, such as practical abillities and individual marks achieved in the exam. The examiner marks papers in this order Credit > General > Foundation, and the highest paper passed is the mark recieved, the marks are:

Credit: Either 1 or 2 (equivalent of A* or A at GCSE),
General: Either 3 or 4 (equivalent of B or C at GCSE),
Foundation: Either 5 or 6 (equivalent of D or E at GCSE).

If the entire course is failed they recieve a 7.

---

Traditionally in fifth year of high school (12th Grade? 15-16 y/o) pupils will sit 5 Highers (SCQF6), which are difficult courses taken over a year. Marking for Highers (and incidentally Intermediate 1s and 2s) is similar to the rest of the world (Grades A-D, with a non-award meaning fail). Although in Scotland the marking is seen as steep for the difficulty.

Pupils who did not achieve a Credit-mark in the Standard Grades will have to sit the equivalent of Credit (Intermediate 2) before being allowed to sit Highers.

A-Grade: 70%+
B-Grade: 60%+
C-Grade: 50%+
D-Grade: 45%+
N/A: <45%

Sometimes the percentages are modified to account for the difficult in exams.

---

In the last year of High School (13th Grade? 16-17 y/o) pupils will either re-sit Highers (which is common - since a lot of people fail and even more people are ineligible to do Highers in the first place, thus doing Int2s) or sit Advanced Highers (I didn't). Advanced Highers are like harder Highers, and pupils generally sit 3. They last a year.

Typically Advanced Highers are unnecessary to gain access into University, unless you wish to go to Oxford or Cambridge.

---

University applications are done through UCAS (like in England), and any qualification that is SCQF6 or above is considered in the application process.

Eg. to study a BSc in Medicine at Glasgow University (considered by many to be the best uni in Scotland) you would need AAAAB at Higher level. (They also allow AAB from A-Levels).

My course (BSc Computer Games Design at Glasgow Caledonian University) required BBBC. So you can see that entry requirements can vary.

---

I think Heather would be proud.

[Robbo]

Gah day after tomorrow im actually terrified because im not the sharpest murder weapon in the cluedo ^^