<p>Spencer: Sorry about that. I must have gotten confused with some other years statistics. Prep schools in the UK, yes- Wycombe abbey, Cheltenham Ladies, Westminster.</p>
<p>And I agree that Cambridge can set very tough papers. I'm merely saying that SEAB can too, but that they will have a problem establishing a name.</p>
<p>And are you sure about the 55%. I heard it was at least 60% over, with some people saying that they have had years with up to 70%. That's quite surprising actually, considering it's the top.</p>
<p>Sam Lee: I think I could have phrased it better but nonetheless Harrow's school has apparently gone as far as to say that they will not participate in the A levels any longer if it is "dumbed down" any further. "In some subjects, questions are less challenging than in the past as exam boards try to make courses like maths and French more popular. " (Harrow School head.)</p>
<p>"educationalists and elements of the popular press argue that the change is due to grade inflation and the examinations getting easier"</p>
<p>"The September 2004 reformation of the Mathematics syllabus, following calls it was too hard,[36] has attracted criticism for allegedly being made easier"</p>
<p>So I guess we are both right here. However, it definitely isn't my opinion that the A levels are getting easier or that the system is failing. I don't think it is any easier than what is in Singapore. I'm just stating what I read from various articles</p>
<p>Firstly, does the island stand for Singapore and G stands for girl? Are you a female?</p>
<p>No, I think Cambridge can set more "creative", novel and challenging questions than SEAB. They have more experts after all. </p>
<p>It is 55% this year.</p>
<p>In the UK, there are quiet a few exam boards, namely Cambridge, Edexcel and AQA. Edexcel is the most common and the middle line. Cambridge is the most respected. Take a look at the A-lvl maths C3 papers from Edexcel, they are so straight forward that it is shocking!</p>
<p>The UK maths syllabus is not anywhere challenging. Most people know this. </p>
<p>A-levels is a superior system. We should continue to stay with Cambridge International Examinations, and not go down the line of setting our own papers as HK does.</p>
[QUOTE]
Comparison with IELTS
A survey was conducted to equate the results in HKAL Use of English and the International English Language Testing System by the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority.</p>
<p>HKAL IELTS
A 7.41 - 8.30
B 6.92 - 7.40
C 6.51 - 6.91
D 6.03 - 6.50
E 5.40 - 6.02
[/QUOTE]
</p>
<p>Scroll down and look at the criticism part:
[QUOTE]
The HKALE has been constantly criticised for its excessive difficulty in achieving good grades. For many subjects, only the very top students are awarded good grades.</p>
<p>In 2006, only about 0.6% of the candidates (199 out of 33129) attended the Use of English were awarded an 'A'.</p>
<p>1996 - 2006 HKALE Statistics of candidates' results in Use of English</p>
You can see that while the HK people lament about the difficulty of getting an A in HKALE Use of English, the standard of an A (top grade), which is only IELTS 7.41+, is, well, low by international standards. There is really no need to bark about wow only 0.6% got an A. A much harsher scale could have easily been adopted and fail most HK students.</p>
<p>Spencer11111: firstly, why does it matter what IslanderG stands for? And whether I'm male or female :O ...it's a random screen name based on something I read. And yes, I'm currently in Singapore. And no, G does not stand for girl.</p>
<p>Secondly, yes I completely agree that we should stick with the A levels instead of having SEAB take over. There would be a lot of disadvantages, and earlier on I was merely pointing out that Singaporeans ARE capable of setting proper questions. Nonetheless, I'd stick with the A level system.</p>
I don't think so. Look at IB, they issued wrong history paper and sets wrong questions. Look at HKALE/HKCEE, they have plenty of scandals. Look at our own PSLE, remember that nice maths triangle proportion question that cannot be solved?</p>
<p>The Cambridge exams had a clean record until the recent Biology paper, and I highly suspect that the error is due to SEAB because that's the year when SEAB was formed and got involved in exams.</p>
<p>"A-levels is a superior system. We should continue to stay with Cambridge International Examinations"</p>
<p>I don't think Singaporeans are doing what you call Cambridge International Examinations. Singaporeans actually take Singapore- Cambridge LOCAL examinations. The A-Level examination that we take in Singapore is different from that in other countries. Trust me, I was a foreign scholar in Singapore. My friends in my country of origin took the Cambridge INTERNATIONAL examinations. I checked their past year physics, math, chem papers and was surprised to find that they were different.</p>
<p>That's a bit of history: In 2000, UK revamped its A-level syllabus, splitting the A-level exam into AS and A2. For edexcel, they went a step further and made it modular.</p>
<p>For Singapore, we didn't follow the C2000 changes, so we are actually taking the old style A-levels.</p>
<p>My point is that it is more challenging to do A-Levels in Singapore because we have extra things to handle like project work, mother tongue, NAPFA test, national education, CCAs, and for some students, S papers which A-Level students in other countries don't. We also do not have the choice to do AS levels and are instead expected to cram two years of knowledge into one examination sitting. I'm sure those of you who went through the Singapore JC system know what I'm talking about. </p>
<p>This is my point of view as a foreign scholar in Singapore, comparing Singapore's A-Level system to that in my country of origin.</p>
<p>In my opinion, it depends on where you are doing your A-Levels. I would say it is easier to do your A-levels in UK/other countries but harder in Singapore on account of the aforementioned reasons.</p>
<p>"Secondly, yes I completely agree that we should stick with the A levels instead of having SEAB take over. There would be a lot of disadvantages, and earlier on I was merely pointing out that Singaporeans ARE capable of setting proper questions. Nonetheless, I'd stick with the A level system."</p>
<p>I strongly suspect that SEAB has already taken over the sole responsibility of setting questions from Cambridge. It is only for the sake of sanctifying the school leaving certificates with the prestige of the Cambridge brand that SEAB continues to be affiliated with Cambridge.</p>
<p>Spencer1111: God! Just because you think I was saying crap, does not make my thought process "female". How degrading! And furthermore, I never told you I was a male. You inferred that on your own. I just said that the G in IslanderG did not stand for "girl".</p>
<p>And yes, I'm a girl. How does that make any difference. ><</p>
<p>You make an awful lot of assumptions. Furthermore, there was no need for you to know whether I am British or Singaporean. Then there was no need for you to know whether I am a girl or a boy. Now there is absolutely no need for you to assume that I'm an overconfident brat. </p>
<p>I could easily be asking on behalf of someone else, and whatever the case, it was merely a question. Gee.</p>
<p>You cannot ask for advice if you don't want to tell anything about yourself. If you are asking on behalf of someone then it is only logical to reveal the relevant stats. </p>