Help a Yank out with the English school system

[Trolle]

So, I'm applying for a job in the UK and have to fill out the common EDUCATION section. I know there has to be one or two people who have gone to school on this board, so what is:

Secondary Education
Level (They prefer A-level (Are there B's and C's too?))

Comparable to in the US? I spent all this time and money on my education (both in the US and EU) and I don't even know where to put it on an application!!!! Typical. This is what they should be teaching in school!

[WX Man]

The local British Consulate to where you are in the US should be able to help 'validate' your US education level. Otherwise consider this:

GCSEs at 15-16, graded A-E plus F (fail), and N (not gradable). Anything taken after 1995 and below a C means you are abysmally hopeless at the subject. Before 1995:

A* - brilliant (top 1% in the country for that exam)
A - very good
B - above average but not brilliant
C - average
D - below average but not poor
E - weak
F - failure
N (or U) - brain the size of a proton (at least for that subject)

Generally most kids with half a brain will take 9 GCSEs in the core subjects:

English Language
English Literature
Maths
History or Geography
Physics, Chemistry, Biology
1 European language, most commonly French, Spanish, or German

Above average kids will take up to 12. Anything more than 12 is a waste of time.

A levels: before 2000, most kids did 3. Since then, most kids are doing 3 full ones and 2 half ones (AS levels). You can do them in just about any subject. Graded similarly to GCSEs, except without the A*.

The important thing to realise is that

1. There are is no fixed mark above which a particular grade is applicable
2. A levels in their current format were introduced in 1991, and have been getting easier every year since.... errrr, sorry, I mean "grades have been improving" every year since.

[ck4707]

A levels are now actually split into two parts - AS and A2.

Everybody studies AS for the first year, if they get good enough grades at AS they move on to A2.

Grades at AS + grades at A2 = A level grade.

Weaker candidates tend not to progress onto A2 level, hence a rise in standards, ie less candidates fail at A2 because they have already dropped out at AS level.

Confused ? you soon will be!

CK

[mad_jock]

Don't worry m8 you nobody understands the scottish system either.

A level stands for Advanced Level. Its the standard of exam and will be roughly equal to whatever exams you had to sit 16-18 years old.

Had one company thought I had 5 A levels when they where actually 5 scottish highers which are only 1 year instead of 2 and its quite common for people to have between 4 and 8 highers compared to the normal 3 A levels. Gawd knows what they thought my SYS physics was all about.

MJ

[foghorn]

A system that was clear, simple and upon which employers and universities could rely to give them a good measure of a person's academic abilities, is now a shambles and doesn't give much away. Employers report having to send people with higher than average GCSE grades to remedial classes for Maths and English, and the universities are complaining that they can no longer trust A-levels and are re-introducing entrance exams (which is what in general A-levels were designed to replace!)

As has been said, the dumbing down started in 1988 for GCSEs and in 1990 for A-Levels, however it only really became significant after 1995.

It needs sorting out quickly.

[Trolle]

Okay, I see :confused:
I'll just put down the education and my classes. I don't think they'll worry too much about my high school art class. But the more the merrier!