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Are School Examinations Getting Easier?

So, conspiracy theories apart, are school examinations getting easier or have standards improved so much that an examination only taken by the top ten per cent of pupils thirty years ago is now passed with ease by any pupil who is not in remedial education.

Are School Exams Getting Easier?

posted by Ian Thorpe
@ 2005-08-16
CREATIVE COMMONS: Some rights reserved. Distribution: Non - commercial, attrib, no derivs, All reproductions should be credited to Boggart Blog and linked to "http://www.greenteethmm.com/"
KEYWORDS: education, school, examination, children, pupils, humor, satire

As record numbers of semi literate pupils achieve grade one A levels in a million subjects each the annual storm over standards in secondary education breaks out. Now as someone who was a manager I do sympathise with the employers who complain that even recruits with the highest degrees as lacking in basic academic skills. On the other hand I know that young people who can barely write their own name seem to have a lot of very specialised knowledge of pharmecuticals, astro - physics and some highly specialised branches of computer technology. The problem then is that the education being provided is targeted at passing exams and not equipping pupils with life skills.
Bearing in mind Socrates said "what we must do we learn by doing" and also the age old complaint that a segment of society unable to do the most basic maths in connection with gainful employment can in seconds work out the return due on an each way Yankee that has two winners, a placed horse and a loser, I suggest a different approach is needed if we are to gain a true picture of a shool leaver's abilities.

Take this approach to the Maths A - level for example.

MATHEMATICS - PAPER 1:1.Deco has 0.5 kilos of cocaine. If he sells a "fat one" to the Vinster for $300 and 90 grams to Loose Loueez for 90 bucks a gram what is the street value of the rest of his stash?

2.Ant pimps 3 whores downtown and pays The Vinster 50% of his 80% of the girls gross earnings for protection. If the price is 100 bills a hump, how many tricks per day must each whore turn to support the Vinster's $500 a day crack habit?

3. Wakka wants to cut the kilo of coke he bought for $7k to make a 20% profit. How many grams of strychnine will he need to make the coke "top banana"?

4. Christy got a 6-year stay at the Assache Hotel for murder. He also was paid $350,000 for the hit. If his whore - bitch wife spends £33,100 per month on exotic underwear, beauty treatments and designer clothes how much money will be left when our boy gets to tread the streets again?

Extra Credit Bonus: How much more time will Christy get for killing the bitch that spent his hard-earned cash?

5. If an average can of spray paint covers 22 square meters and the average letter is 1 square metre,how many letters can be sprayed with eight cans of spray paint if you get 20% extra paint free?
Extra Credit Bonus:How many cans will fit in the hood of a Tommy Hilfiger jacket?

6.Liam steals Eamo's skateboard.As Liam skates away at a speed of 35mph, Eamo loads his brother's Armalite. If it takes Eamo 20 seconds to load the gun, how far will Liam have travelled before Eamo offs him?

Now that is the kind of thing a modern kid needs to know if he/she is going to succeed in life.



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