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what's the equivalent of gcse's here to american education?

what's the equivalent of gcse's here to american education?

Old Oct 11th 2007, 4:54 pm
  #16  
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Default Re: what's the equivalent of gcse's here to american education?

Originally Posted by jumping doris
I'm sure you could find 12 stupid people anywhere and they won't be representative of the educational standards of the country they come from.
aye, anyone can get a passport...was still a funny story none the less
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Old Oct 12th 2007, 7:47 am
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Default Re: what's the equivalent of gcse's here to american education?

Originally Posted by loopylorns
ITA there is no equivalent to GCSE's, Ap/IB are considered equivalent to A levels in terms of uni acceptance.

If your daughter has any intention of going to Uni in the Uk she will need the AP/IB.
I would disagree with this...I would not consider A-levels to be equivalent to AP courses, because AP credit is generally accepted to be on-par with university credit - i.e. the university will give you credit for an equivalent course from their school for having passed the AP exam with a score of either 4 or 5. I think the reason UK universities would prefer to see AP/IB credit on a transcript is because it gives them a bit more of an absolute standard to which they can compare the applicant. A GPA from a standard American high school means very little to an international school, since academic standards vary so widely. But at least the Advanced Placement or IB testing boards offer a little bit of standardisation.

If they are available at her school, and your daughter is fairly accomplished academically, I would (as a graduate of a fairly selective university and also of the public high school system) recommend that she take as many APs as she can. If she is able to handle material that is even the least bit above grade level, she should be fine, and they look excellent on a transcript, and might even save her money on her college tuition bill - I saved about $15,000 because I was able to skip an entire semester.

Another option is taking a bunch of PSATs..."pre"-SATs. Generally you take them in 10th grade prior to the real SATs, but because they are more specialised than the regular test you can really demonstrate your specific strengths. They have tests for Science, Writing, foreign languages, etc. Things that the SAT itself wouldn't cover. Usually there is a space on college applications for those scores and if you get a good score, it can be very impressive.

Sorry for rambling, and I hope this was helpful.
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Old Oct 12th 2007, 3:35 pm
  #18  
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Default Re: what's the equivalent of gcse's here to american education?

They probably give more substance to AP because that's the kind of crap that you would normally be doing in the wasted first year of uni over here....all that basic maths, english, p.e etc.

Originally Posted by BadlyDrawnGrl
I would disagree with this...I would not consider A-levels to be equivalent to AP courses, because AP credit is generally accepted to be on-par with university credit - i.e. the university will give you credit for an equivalent course from their school for having passed the AP exam with a score of either 4 or 5. I think the reason UK universities would prefer to see AP/IB credit on a transcript is because it gives them a bit more of an absolute standard to which they can compare the applicant. A GPA from a standard American high school means very little to an international school, since academic standards vary so widely. But at least the Advanced Placement or IB testing boards offer a little bit of standardisation.
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Old Oct 12th 2007, 5:18 pm
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Default Re: what's the equivalent of gcse's here to american education?

Originally Posted by Bob
They probably give more substance to AP because that's the kind of crap that you would normally be doing in the wasted first year of uni over here....all that basic maths, english, p.e etc.
That's the gist of what I was going to say............ but you have said it so much more succinctly!!



I also agree with whoever said that it would be advisable to delay the move until the girl has sat her GCSEs. It would make the transition sooooooooo much easier.

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Old Oct 14th 2007, 2:38 am
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Default Re: what's the equivalent of gcse's here to american education?

I utterly agree with what Elvira said. My kids are writing their iGCSE's next year even though we live in the US (have to fly to Europe for that - they stopped allowing them to be written in the US a few years ago), but it is worth it, IMO.
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Old Oct 14th 2007, 12:47 pm
  #21  
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Default Re: what's the equivalent of gcse's here to american education?

Originally Posted by happyascanbe
my daughter & i are moving to las vegas as soon as i sort out a school for her there, hopefully before the end of the year. i'm just wondering what's the equivalent of gcse's here in uk to american education because she's in her 11th year and suppose to have her gcse's on april next year.
According to the UK government's 1997 National Committee of Inquiry into Higher
Education (Dearing Report):
"The American high school diploma compares in standard with GCSE and the
associate degree with GCE A-level and Advanced GNVQ, the bachelor’s degree with a
UK pass degree or higher national diploma and the Master’s degree with a bachelor’s
honours degree from a British university."
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