Mean-spirited exam critics should know better

From: Amber Harcourt, Wentworth Place, Scholes, Rotherham.

THE suggestion that modern exams are too simple, and high grades achieved too easily, has been well documented in the media, but what many people are forgetting to consider is the impact this has on the students.

Let me explain from my point of view. I was overjoyed to receive my A-level results this month, and remember the same feeling of euphoria two years ago on GCSE results day. It is unfair that the success students feel is tainted by public opinion of GCSEs being a “walk in the park” or “much easier than in my day”.

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I have no idea how difficult exams were in the 1980s, only being 18 years old, so I cannot compare the two.

However, from experience, let me assure you that understanding the complex workings of the human heart in biology or analysing Shakespeare’s hidden meaning throughout his epic plays is not, and has never been, easy. The vast range of subjects studied at GCSE level guarantees that virtually every teenager struggles at some point.

This year, however, many experts in the field of education are insisting that GCSEs have toughened up. This may well be the case, and for students who have missed out on their target grades, I feel truly sorry.

Changing standards can only result in diversity between year to year of results: an unfair outcome that could easily cause problems as the young people in our region begin to apply for jobs.

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But all I am saying, when all the statistics and school league tables are put aside, is that teenagers spend months revising and working for these exams. Whatever results they achieve deserve to be celebrated. Instead of the constant analysis, it would be nice if people took a step back and said “well done” to students.