The Golden Age of Education continued By Mark Pollard

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Great Myth Number Two is that increasing pass rates mean that exams must be easier than they were back in The Golden Age. We hear it at the end of every summer, when record numbers of A grades are reported all around the country, prompting the old-schoolers to write to their local rags bemoaning the decline in educational standards.

I've got a question for these people though: if standards are so low these days, how come our society is still advancing, let alone merely functioning? Every year in the UK we see great strides being taken in every area of human endeavour: scientific, medical and technological advances; new levels of understanding arising from research in human, social and historical fields; new benchmarks being set by sportsmen and women (even by those not using performance-enhancing drugs); and the less easily measured, but still tangible, efforts of those working in the arts.

Are they suggesting that it's down to the fact that these older folk, educated properly during The Golden Age, are simply dragging the young 'uns along to these new levels? I reckon there's only one way to decide if exams are getting easier, and that's to ask people who have studied exam papers over the years what they think. And we just so happen to have one here for you today.

I started my teaching career at a Sixth Form College, and I was the sole tutor in my subject, taking over from a guy who had been there since the early Neolithic period. A major overhaul was required, so a new syllabus was adopted and I wrote a course based around its requirements.

It was hard work, involving lots of long and solitary hours, and I soon learned that, to come up with a scheme of work that offers students just the right depth and breadth of coverage needed to get through a course successfully, it is essential to study exam papers from previous years, going back as far as possible.

So, for those of you who might be tempted to believe the rubbish spouted by these bitter old dinosaurs, let me assure you that (in the subjects I taught, at least) exams are every bit as hard as they were thirty years ago.

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