A-levels and GCSEs have got easier over the past decade, an official analysis has confirmed. The problem is far more widespread. Over my 37 years in teaching I have watched standards plummet in almost total disbelief.
What must be stated however, is that this has twin causes:
Firstly, examiners are entitled to draw cut-off points wherever they choose with all the nonsense that this entails. It is this and this alone which leads to 'result inflation'.
Secondly - and far more worrying is the falling, academic abilities of children. This cannot be just about whether or not 'phonic' methods were used to teach them English in infant schools.
There is evidence that IQ levels are falling.
Many readers may be surprised to see me state that the education system itself is not actually at the root of this particular problem at all.
Causes range from lack of proper discipline in the home to tolerated idleness by parents; TVs in bedrooms to unlimited texting of friends; computer games to accepted 'slobbing about'; poor parental monitoring of children's progress to the naive belief that children really are doing homework behind that closed bedroom door.
To these you can add the passive nature of so many of the activities followed by children today, lack of reading and failure to access that treasure trove of largely excellent, educational channels on television in favour of soaps and the utterly trivial.
When you add to all of this the rather lame education received, we really do have to look forward to rapidly declining intelligence levels across our society in the future.
Scary stuff!Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2137939/A-Levels-GCSEs-HAVE-got-easier-decade-says-qualifications-watchdog.html#ixzz1tg5LoQE8
