RockBank

Following the recent GCSE results in the UK this has led to the annual questioning whether they are a true test. The below links refer to these and also include a story where GCSE maths has been dropped. Is the education system in the USA any better? The possibility that the three "R"s aren't been taught very well in the UK is a major concern and things as basic as spelling aren't being taught well. I've heard some say that it's not important, its whether pupils can express themselves, though I believe that philosophy is usually from those who weren't that great at spelling and grammar in the first place!

The general perception is that the UK system is better but what do others think?

Mancheser Evening News - 3r's

Manchester Evening News - GCSE Maths dropped

RB

Bob

bit shite over here too...but then it really depends on where you go, no national curriculum, so can be hit and miss...

should have a read of "Freakonomics" for an idea about how dodgy it can get with teachers cheating to fix results etc...

Rompers

It varies greatly by State. Are we talking about Massachusetts or Alabama?

Wintersong

I can't compare the two systems since I have little experience of the education over here. I can concur that literacy is a major problem in the UK though. To be honest, these days the curriculum has to be "all singing, all dancing" with hands on activities, role play, starter activities and so on. Teachers are no longer allowed to teach by rote learning because it's "boring" for the kids. IMO, it may be boring but it used to get the information in. Literacy skills have been declining for some years now despite the primary school literacy hour.

anotherlimey

wat meens u? r u sayin me skilz r not god enuf?

Thydney

The system over here is pathetic, my eldest went from gifted in the UK to being ESN according to her teacher to being gifted in three months. The teacher was racist to her because she was English and white we only got satisfaction from the school when we threatened legal action due to the racism then she was given a teacher with half a brain. We now pay for private education.

Jess5377

It varies by what you consider better. Personally, when we have children we will move to the US for their education. The school system in the UK is failing in some areas and the areas that have good schools have even higher property prices. The one thing that bothers me about education in the UK is that they give students the opportunity to leave school at 16, but on the other hand uni is so much cheaper. However, b/c its free or cheap you get students going just to go, not b/c they really want to. The UK also tends to teach children a language more often that schools in the US (when it tends to be only in High School unless you go private) which is an advantage. My biggest plus for US schools is that they teach a more rounded education- at least the ones I know of- students don't focus as much on a few subjects, but are instead made to study all areas whether they like it or not. In the long run I feel this is better. There isn't an empasis placed on choosing right away what you want to do even at uni in the US, the first 2 yrs are known as a liberal education. I want my children to have a broader education.

BUT, it depends on the school. You can and will have horrible schools no matter where you are. This is all just my opinion and by no means right or wrong.

Wintersong

I'm not allowed to say that because it might give you low self esteem.

I now have to give you 65 opportunities to increase your score on your test so as not to label you a failure.

Questions:

1) Can you spell your name?
2) Identify the main processes involved in signing on at the dole office. (Hint: Question 1 may help you here)
3) If you spend 100 quid a week on fags and lottery tickets, how much of your dole cheque can be spent on feeding your 6 kids?

kevntrace

Couldn't have put it better myself

geordiegirl2

my children aged 12 & 10 have been in both education systems and i think the UK system was best for one and the US for the other, the older one is very bright and last year was frustrated at how narrow the syllabus was, i.e anything that happened outside the US was skipped over, I think there is more of a focus on the three R's in the US but the education seems much less equipped with teaching real life skills, they still teach imperial measures, there's a big focus on learning mathmatical terminology and less on its application IMO.
For my younger child who has dyslexic traits the system has been superb, more support than he would ever have got at home,the repititive way of learning suits him.
I should say at this point we live in AZ which has almost the worst educational funding in the US.

Sally

We have only just arrived but I think my 12-year-old son's old school gave a much more rounded curriculum, including eg languages, art, music and computing. School funding in the UK has definitely gone up in recent years and a lot of schools have great facilities and extra-curricular activities, whereas funding seems to be a big issue here. It does seem there is more emphasais on routine and rote learning here. That may not be all bad, standards are definitely an issue in the UK.

mandpete

I have 2 children aged 14 and 8. We have been here just over 3 years and I honestly think the education system in this part of NJ is much better than the education they received in the UK.

My son is an A student who is exceptionally lazy when it comes to doing homework assignments (it must be in his genes as me and hubby were the same) but his teachers have always kept us up to date when his grades have started to fall. We never really got to talk and meet with his teachers in UK except for parents' evening.

My daughter was moved up a grade when she started school here and is by far the youngest in her class. She has just moved to Intermediate school and is in the top class out of 14 classes.

I have found that because the class sizes are smaller here, each child receives more one on one time with the teacher and is given work in accordance with their ability.

We are fortunate where we live because NJ has one of the best education systems in the US. This is probably because we pay high municipal taxes of which about 60% is spent on education.

BlightyBoy

I've met some fairly unintelligent people who I am told were straight A students. Is it easy to be a straight A student here? Does it involve getting on with the teacher?

Wintersong

My understanding of the system is that the end of year exams are set by the class teacher so I guess that's a possibility.

Mind you, you wouldn't believe some of the drongos who get grade A at GCSE English these days, and that's an externally set and marked exam.

GCSEs have degenerated to the point where a reasonably bright person can get As without any work throughout the two years, as has been proven to me time and time again in my 6 years of teaching in the UK. They are woefully inadequate in terms of preparing the kids for A Levels as well. So many kids get used to doing absolutely nothing for GCSE and then end up failing A Levels because they couldn't get it through their heads that they actually needed to do some work for them.

AmerLisa

What end of the year exams?