Wednesday, March 23, 2005
When a ten-year series is not enough
I know Singaporean students take the examinations seriously, but this is ridiculous.Seen in a classroom today:
- Chemistry examinations at A Level, 1983-2001
- Mathematics examinations at A Level, 1982-2003
- Biology examinations at A Level, 1993-2003
Notice that only the last one fulfils the dictionary definition of the "ten-year series" of examination papers. (The "ten-year series" is a phrase used in local parlance to denote assessment books collating Cambridge examinations from previous years. Students use the ten-year series as practice exams for the real thing.) Two of these books are, in fact, twenty-year series --- which means that the seventeen-/eighteen-year-old students who use these books are doing practice exams that were set before they were even born.
Oy vey.
posted by Tym at 1:30 PM
4 Comments
- At 3/23/2005 7:28 PM Agagooga said...
"Biology examinations at A Level, 1993-2003"
That's 11 years, my dear.
What's it with girls and maths? :)- At 3/23/2005 10:40 PM Tym said...
Eh, don't suan girls on my blog. I can too count. I just figured 1993-2003 was close enough to a ten-year series to pass without comment. It was the other two titles that made me do a double-take.
- At 3/26/2005 4:16 AM Andrew said...
In a recent Secondary 2 GEP common test, we had a 1900's question that came out. Needless to say, we had never expected that.
- At 3/27/2005 11:26 PM voctir said...
I've noticed that for a long time already in 1999 when I was mugging for A's.
All my 'ten-year series' already had questions from the 70's back then.
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