Physics missing from A-Level top 10
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/6950084.stm
That's less than 3.9 percent of A-Level exam entries being for physics.
A few choice snippets from the above article
"The think tank Reform said that on a longer view, since 2000, entries in such key subjects were mostly down - maths by 10% and physics by 14%, for example."
"David Brown of the Institution of Chemical Engineers said the results were encourgaing but masked the growing skills crisis facing science and technology in the UK. "We are confronted by a major shortage of talented scientists and engineers,"
"He rejected the idea that in a subject like maths, in which almost 44% already get A grades - there would inevitably be a need for an even higher, A** grade."
44% A grade in maths? well at least there is further maths to skim off the cream of the crop
My pet peeve though is this quote
"At a joint council news conference, Greg Watson of the OCR exam board said critical thinking encapsulated the sort of skills that were in demand by universities and by employers.
For example, anyone working in science would benefit from being able to evaluate the arguments for and against the MMR vaccine, he said."
I'm guessing Greg Watson has never worked in science; you don't evaluate arguments in science, you evaluate the evidence dammit. I'll be writing more on this in an article I'm hoping to have finished by the end of this week.
Untill then bye and forgive any poor editing/spelling/grammar...you know what happens when you slam a car into reverse on the motorway? Yeah, that's my brain about now.
That's less than 3.9 percent of A-Level exam entries being for physics.
A few choice snippets from the above article
"The think tank Reform said that on a longer view, since 2000, entries in such key subjects were mostly down - maths by 10% and physics by 14%, for example."
"David Brown of the Institution of Chemical Engineers said the results were encourgaing but masked the growing skills crisis facing science and technology in the UK. "We are confronted by a major shortage of talented scientists and engineers,"
"He rejected the idea that in a subject like maths, in which almost 44% already get A grades - there would inevitably be a need for an even higher, A** grade."
44% A grade in maths? well at least there is further maths to skim off the cream of the crop
My pet peeve though is this quote
"At a joint council news conference, Greg Watson of the OCR exam board said critical thinking encapsulated the sort of skills that were in demand by universities and by employers.
For example, anyone working in science would benefit from being able to evaluate the arguments for and against the MMR vaccine, he said."
I'm guessing Greg Watson has never worked in science; you don't evaluate arguments in science, you evaluate the evidence dammit. I'll be writing more on this in an article I'm hoping to have finished by the end of this week.
Untill then bye and forgive any poor editing/spelling/grammar...you know what happens when you slam a car into reverse on the motorway? Yeah, that's my brain about now.
posted by Justin Kilcullen - Nichols at
15:22
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