Is the Maths GCSE Easier Now Than When You Were at School?
It’s that time of year again, year 11s are sitting their GCSE’s and there is a lot of pressure on them to do well. The majority will have prepped hard and put in lots of effort, but they never know whether it will be enough.
Through online maths tutoring, I see many young people who work hard, and feel the pressure, even when they are well prepared. They take my advice into the exam, don’t skip questions, check what the question is asking more than once, check they’ve answered the question, and lay-out their work in a way that is easy to read. They will have completed lots and lots of past papers, to ensure that they know what to expect.
I don’t think I was ever that well prepared for exams.
Then sometimes, the exam throws a curve ball, with a really different question.
This year the papers were full of the final Edexcel question on paper 1, which had three overlapping circles, very little information and wanted an area found.
READ NOW: Manchester Evening News: Students Left Boggled by Impossible Question on the GCSE Exam
It’s a perfectly doable question, but it’s not obvious. It combines a few topics, and you have to spot a few things. I know there were a few teachers scratching their heads afterwards!
A 2nd year BSc Maths students take on the last question of Edexcel GCSE Maths Higher Paper 1. A tough one, even I had to spend some time looking where to start. How many marks was it worth anyone? #gcses2022 #gcsemaths #gcses #EdexcelMaths pic.twitter.com/zGLNTlgenh
— Harry Surplus (@harrysurplus) May 20, 2022
Back in 2015 a question that confused many teens was Hannah’s Sweets, It was before the GCSE changed in 2017, and was a sign of things to come. We hadn’t had questions like that before.
No doubt about it, there was a different challenge with the GCSE from that point on. Questions would combine topics, they were wordier, there was much more problem solving. With the new grade 9, there had to be a way to differentiate between students.
Another challenge with the maths GCSE is the reading age needed to answer the questions. With text heavy maths questions the reading age can vary from 8-9 through to 15, and not all 15 year-olds have a reading age that high. Maths is a language, and so our children need to know the vocabulary and then be able to use it in a complex question.
It’s not always heavy text that causes a problem though. Have a look at this question.
A pattern is made from four identical squares.
?The sides of the squares are parallel to the axes.
Point A has the coordinates (6, 7)
Point B has the coordinates (38, 36)
Point C is marked on the diagram.
Work out the coordinates of C.
Edexcel 2018 Paper 1 Higher Q 6
This one is about thinking logically. Consider what you know and how you might tackle it. What do you think? Can you answer it? This is why I recommend doing puzzles to build problem solving skills and resilience.
I don’t think we can say if the GCSE is easier or harder, but it is definitely different. Young people have a lot of pressure on them and we need to recognise that. The best thing we can do is help them prepare, the best we can.
Carry on the conversation and come and join us in Education Support 4 Parents.