Exam results and back-to-school fever!

[Djynn Flyssa]

There's a chance that some of you, other than myself, received their GCSE results today. Or maybe you got your A-level or IB grades. Or maybe you're just starting to notice the local stationery emporia putting up their 'BACK-TO-SCHOOL' signs...anyone care to share some anecdotes, thoughts, their exam results?

[Yoshi]

I never had any of those, mine revolved around the ACT and the old school SAT. You people should consider yourselves lucky, my year was the last year they had the ever-dreaded analogies on that god-forsaken thing. Tool :: user, yeah yeah yeah.

My school really started a week ago, and I can't help but notice all of the boosting done by our campus bookstores. An easy way to light $500 on fire.

[Strangie]

Back to school?
...
AHAHAHAHAHA! BWAHAHAHA! Good one. I'm not going back to school. Already graduated and college sucked.

Academics was never my strong suit. If they had a class on being cynical, though, I'd ace it for sure.

[plebanshiren]

my sister got all C's in here exams and she got a DS as a reward ^^
I've noticed all the back to school sign (the main street of truro is full of them!) and I went in with my mum to get alot of new stationary.
I have yet to have my SATs results form before I broke up from school. But I hope I did good (*crosses fingers*) any who hope you get results from your exams ^^

[Toshi]

School... thank god i'm no longer in education, unless i decide to go to University next year... which i probably won't, hurr.

Yeah, btw, i heard what you got in your GCSEs, congratulations! ^^

[Twi]

Gah, I'm GCSEing this year when I got back, exams in june, mocks in january, not looking forward to it D=
Thought after that It's time for...6th form. College without the much more diverse choice, joyous day D=
Then Uni I think, that's in 3 or 4 years, oh joy =D

[Graedius]

You shouldn't suggest something that only a small portion of people would have, heh... I'm assuming this test type only applies to British residents, mmh?

[Djynn Flyssa]

Yuppers, you got that right...oh btw, Grae, I haven't seen you in ages! Hi!

[Graedius]

Mhh, hello there. :3~
The only thing I can sort of relate to this topic is my passing grade of 50.01% in Chemistry.

[Yoshi]

graedius said:

The only thing I can sort of relate to this topic is my passing grade of 50.01% in Chemistry.

Ayuh? Around here we don't pass 'till it's above 60%.

There are some things around, as I assume the GCSE is similar to the ACT/SAT. I had friends who got 33s and 34s on it and were dissapointed.^* My ACT score is super-secret.

*_{In the American ACT a perfect score is 36. Anything above a 27 puts you in the 90th percentile, which means you scored higher than 90% of the rest of the test-takers. Those 33-34s put them in the 99th percentile - the average scores are around 20-22 - and they still were not satisfied.}

[Twi]

We have SATs in Britain for when you're 7/8, 10/11 and 13/14. Though I didn't take the year 9 SATs cos I go to a private school and they thought they were a waste of time, score!

[Anjil]

admin said:

Ayuh? Around here we don't pass 'till it's above 60%.

Same here. Actually, in Temecula, the town next to mine, All D's count as F's. So, it's a 70% or higher, or else you'll be eating it.


I'm guessing SATs in Britain are the same as the CAT6(?) here in California, where it's only taken by 4th, 7th, and 10th graders. I think it is, at least. It's been a while since I've taken it.

SATs in America are roughly tests used by colleges and universities to select incoming students. You only take it once, I think. I went on to a junior college instead of a university right away, so I didn't need to take it for whatever reason. I'm transferring for sure, though. Cal State Fullerton, yey~! Or maybe Arizona State.

I started a couple weeks ago on the 14th. You know you're at a junior college when your books cost more than your classes.

[Yink]

I had a few for AP classes. I Aced most of them, excpet Science. I just got a low A.

[contention]

It's interesting in ways on how the whole system of grades work; really depending on where you're from and what nation you settle yourself within. Society seems to effect us more than we know, especially in our education systems and how they work themselves around. While this topic may not be so driven to those who live in the "American" states, it still provides a good example of how things are differed from across the seas. As the GCSE might be their heavy load, as stated in the essence of what Lazo remarked and Anjil; we are hereby labeled in our certain measures. This could be positioned in the fashion of the ACT or the SAT, both of which don't merely make "small indentations" as does the ISTEP. For they give the "Umph" to what "Test" really defines, as they will mark the steps into what your "Dreamt" college will accept. To achieve, you have to gain a score that is at least respectable; something that your future can take in and use. Some Colleges sift their requirements in the field of SAT scores around quite a lot, depending on where you want to go though, you might have a secured position. Some Colleges, perhaps as "Ivy Tech" and "Technical Institutes" may not have these as neccessities, merely due to some obvious reasons. On the other hand, majority will ask you to take them and to pass them; one or the other usually, sometimes you'll have to take the ACT and the SAT or just the ACT or SAT. It could be dependent on which half of the Country your college is located, or more sutured in the facet of what your College pertains itself to educating and teaching through. Either way, you should never expect these two "Giants" to be anything under the label of easy; in the matter that they usually wind their way around you by Junior year. It is at this time in your life you'll find yourself getting caught up in "College Applications" and "Job Interviews"; perhaps, in general, one of the toughest years of everything you've been through. This isn't neccessarily dependent upon the material you'll be given, but really fluent on the subject of stress. You'll be a step away from getting out of Highschool, money is going to be a large part of your life; you'll need to begin to save, to prepare yourself for the days ahead. Many have trouble with this knowledge, but it's that hand that's going to come your way and you can decide to take it or not.

We've all gone through many tests in our lifes, especially the fabled old ISTEP; that of which no one could have the right to ignore. Yet once again, to those that live in diffrent areas, we are all treated in oppisite ways. Therefore, you could by all means be given this "beauty", or it might be absent from the walks that you have taken. Either way, they begin us out at a tender age; likely in your first or second grade years of elementry school. It's an innocent little program, you fill in a few circles and get that little catch of "Snack Time"; something to fuel you back up and prepare your engines for another swing down. It really means nothing to us, and not because we chose to think that, merely because we fail to understand the responsibility behind it all. Slowly, as we age, we are handed more and more; things that we all do know by experience; the tests begin to come faster, like a quick hitted pitch. Every other year we are offered another chance to take the ISTEP, one more level up until the final bounty. Finally, in your Sophmore year of Highschool, you'll be given a present that you really can't deny; the last little brick to add to the tower of "ISTEPs". At first it seems like something simplistic: sit down for awhile, play around, read some short essays, and you're done. Don't be mistaken though if you have yet to find your hands upon this, for many Highschools will count this as your ticket out. If you fail to pass, you will fail to graduate until you do. You might not come to realize how many Americans actually have to return to it time and time again throughout their Junior and Senior years. If they would take time to study and practice, with that effort of serious functions involved: they could easily ride up the ladder without any regret or qualms.

So lets say you pass the ISTEP and you get to jump another fleet ahead; well you will be granted something. Sure it won't be what you want, or really something you never want to see: However, it is just another test in the long line of what you're going to have to go through. When you first enter your Junior Year, things will seem pretty much like a piece of cake; it's just another road in the long line of alleyways, or so you'll percieve. Then, by minor alterations, the curtain will rise and the play will be in full swing. This is the year that Colleges will stalk you like a celebrity, every grade you obtain will be but another scribe on their transcripts. This is the pressure that so many can't take, knowing that their are eyes over your shoulder; on your every move. One little slip could send you to the brink of a failure, anything can't be taken for granted; all subjects and classes need to be seriously inputed and classified. Life may be a lovely thing to fling through the breaks we are given, but soon you'll come to realize this doesn't matter to your teachers. While you may not be at the end of the race, you could explain this section of your school year as the portion of the long run where you wear thin. When the finish line is not to far, still in your sights; but every aching muscle in your body clings together. It all becomes a hassle, where every slight interaction causes pain, yet you can't give up. Keep your mind on the importance of what you must achieve, especially the SAT and the ACT. Usually throughout your "Junior" era, these test will occasionaly be dated every now and then. So don't fret and feel that you have to be ready by one certain time, that's not entirely true. Study up until you are sure everything is going to work out, then find that date which suits you best. Infact, it isn't pushed fully to be taken in your Junior year; don't fall into that trap though, if you do it early then it will be easier for Colleges to find more information out about you: thus, acceptance without to many flaws.

An issue with the American Education System can pretty much be summed up in a few words: Bureaucracy, Unequality, and Spacing. With our levels of "Administration" throughout school systems, it's very impossible to get your word across without having to pass through multiple levels. Even teachers have complained that it seems negative to try to do anything, only because there are so many heads you have to talk to. In the years of our past, we were run as anything should be; with a lead role, and those to follow after. Yet, as we've moved on, we've come to want to create "Boards". Due to this, when you speak of something, there are numerous floors you have to cover; going from person to person. Therefore, any statement on fixing an issue will likely crumble to the floor. Think of it like a game of "Telephone", when you whisper something into someones ear, and by the end it comes out as a totally diffrent saying. Your words are bound to get misconstrued and under-developed in such a long, annoying stretch of time. As for the statement of unequality, it's actually been highly discussed upon many of our politicans of late. Our generations might be graduating at a higher pace and rate, but it's stating to show that those who enter college are not to "Ready" for it like others. Some schools in our nations teach totally diffrent ways than another school may. Finding a common criteria is hard at times, without funds and lack of them; there are those that fall behind the ages and find themselves clinging to any loans they can suffice. It's not fair, and it makes us far to diffrent from one another in knowledge and understanding.

People also blame "Parents" for the way they raise their children; giving them that baby like comfort as they grow up every day. Being with them at every school event, making sure they have everything they need. Then, when their child goes into the real world, they can hardly keep themselves sane let alone work for what they need. They feel that they are alone, which in reality they are; but truthfully, there are many just like them. They don't realize that in time, things work out; they start to batter and eventually coil under the pressure and give up what they had worked for. Sort of like a "child whom cries when hungry" that of which can't get it's own means of food, to starve merely because it's unfit. To think of a grown man, on the brink of crushing, only because he can't take having to support his own funds and foundations. We need to come to comprehend that sometimes in life, you actually have to do things yourself and without people to shove you through the door.

[Graedius]

Yeah, up here in Canadia, at least in my province, 50% is a passing grade, hahah.

[Lich Yoshi von Kippo]

50% 's always been a pass at the schools I was at, 50% 's a pass at my university. *shrug* My not-so-little state of Queensland here in Australia has a really weird and complicated bell curve system called the Overall Position. It's not determined by a final exam at the end of the year, but throughout your entire senior year every (usually every) item counts towards your OP. The level of work and the standards set by your school are compared with other schools, and there's a Core Skills Test which basically determines your school's "average" compared with other schools across the whole state. The QCS as it's called (though, they might have changed it) had two multiple choice papers, a short response paper and a writing task where you had to respond to a range of stimuli presented to you. It didn't test you for your subjects, but more your abilities. I got an OP10, which is above average (considering it goes from 1-25, 1 being the highest).