Physics dead in the class rooms of England?

[Lazybones]

http://www.wellingtongrey.net/articles/archive/2007-06-07--open-letter-aqa.html

Wow! that is all I can say.

The Vague:

The specification provided by the AQA (available at their website) is vaguely worded. Every section starts with either phrase ?to evaluate the possible hazards and uses of?? or ?to compare the advantages and disadvantages of?? without listing exactly what hazards, uses, advantages or disadvantages the board actually requires pupils to learn. The amount of knowledge on any given topic, such as the electromagnetic spectrum, could fill an entire year at the university level. But no guidance is given to teachers and, as a result, the exam blindsides pupils with questions like:

    Suggest why he [a dark skinned person] can sunbathe with less risk of getting skin cancer than a fair skinned person.

To get the mark, pupils must answer:

        * More UV absorbed by dark skin (more melanin)
        * Less UV penetrates deep to damage living cells / tissue

Nowhere does the specification mention the words sunscreen or melanin. It doesn?t say pupils need to know the difference between surface dead skin and deeper living tissue. There is no reason any physics teacher would cover such material, or why any pupil should expect to be tested on it.
The Stupid:

On topics that are covered by the specification, the exam board has answers that indicate a lack of knowledge on the writer?s part. One questions asks `why would radio stations broadcast digital signals rather than analogue signals?? An acceptable answer is:

        * Can be processed by computer / ipod [sic]

Aside from the stupidity of the answer, (iPods, at the time of this writing, don?t have radio turners and computers can process analogue signals) writing the mark scheme in this way is thoughtless, as teachers can only give marks that exactly match its language. So does the pupil get the mark if they mention any other mp3 player? Technically, no. Wikipedia currently lists 63 different players. Is it safe to assume that the examiner will be familiar with all of them? Doubtful.

If the question is not poorly worded, or not covered in the specification, it will be insultingly easy. The first question on a sample paper started:

    A newspaper article has the heading: ?Are mobiles putting our children at risk?? A recent report said that children under the age of nine should not use mobile phones?

The first question on the paper was:

    Below which age is it recommended that children use a mobile phone in emergencies only?

This is the kind of reading comprehension question I would expect in a primary school English lesson, not a secondary school GCSE.

[Thorin]

Yikes.  I hope that doesn't happen here.