Most people in the UK will be aware of the recent GCSE results in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (but not in Scotland, where there is no such thing as the GCSE):

Results fell by a modest 0.4 percentage points across the board but there was intense consternation about a deeper drop in English results focused in particular schools. The share of entries graded at C or above fell by 1.5 percentage points in English year-on-year, from 65.4% to 63.9%. Results in maths and science have also fallen, against a backdrop of an explicit order from the exams regulator to curb grade inflation – and promises from politicians to increase rigour.

But the focus of teachers’ anger is on the shifting of the grade boundary for English, between candidates who took exams in winter and those who took papers in summer.

Robert Robson, principal of the Samuel Whitbread academy in Shefford, Bedfordshire, said: “According to our calculations if you did the foundation paper in English in January and got 43 marks you would have received a C grade, while this summer you would have to get 53 marks to get a C grade. The most significant effect is on the C/D borderline. We have 50 students who would usually have got a C that have got a D.”

Although it’s of course terribly unfair and upsetting to the students who feel they’ve been deprived of the results they thought were rightfully theirs, and although I do have some sympathy for the view that Gove should create a new exam (with a new name) rather than making the exams harder every year, I must say I can see the need for some uncertainty in the system.

The thing is that if the schools know exactly how many marks you need to get a C grade, and if the papers don’t change much from one year to another, then it becomes very tempting to teach to the exam rather than actually teaching things that are useful to know. This effect is exacerbated by the fact that schools are rated by the proportion of pupils achieving at least a C, so they’ll redirect a large part of the resources on pupils that fluctuate between a C and a D — or, to express it in marks, the pupils who are are expected to get between 35 and 43 marks and can be pulled up over the 43 threshold.

This is why it’s useful not to have a specific number of marks needed to get a specific grade. If the schools know that the number of marks needed to get a C can be anything between 35 and 50, depending on the actual paper, they cannot concentrate all their resources on coaching a small number of students.

As I’ve argued before, I think grades should be awarded based on percentages: Once all papers have been graded in the country, a computer should work out the A/B borderline so that 10% of the students get an A, the B/C borderline so that 25% of the students get a B, and so on. This would remove grade inflation overnight.

My dear wife recently pointed out to me that you can download past papers from the Scottish Qualifications Authority’s website.

I have in the past only seen the French Intermediate 2, and I wasn’t very impressed. I therefore decided to have a look at the various language exams available.

Much to my surprise, it appears to me that all the language papers seem to be designed to be equally hard to a native speaker. In other words, I think a French native speaker would rate the French paper (PDF) the same as a Chinese speaker would rate the Chinese paper (PDF). For comparison, here are the Spanish, German, Russian and Urdu papers.

Now, many linguists would agree that all languages are equally hard to learn as a first language (i.e., children take more or less the same time to reach perfection no matter what their native language happens to be).

However, there’s no doubt whatsoever that the difficulty of learning a foreign language depends strongly on its similarity to your native language (and any other language(s) you might have learnt).

This means to an English speaker, the foreign language that is easiest to learn is probably Dutch, but choosing from the list of languages offered by the SQA, it’s entirely rational to start with French and then do Spanish as the second foreign language.

Doing Russian or Chinese would be crazy, because one would have to reach the same level in a much harder language in the same amount of time.

The way I see it, the exams should be based on the amount of language one can be expected to learn during the amount of lessons offered in a typical school. This would mean that the Chinese exam to a native speaker would look infinitely easier than the French exam, but there’s no real alternative — the language exam I had to sit after one year of full-time Japanese studies at university would have appeared incredibly easy to a native speaker, but otherwise nobody would have passed it.

The way the SQA are doing it, pupils get punished for wanting to learn a difficult language, which surely isn’t right.

I can’t help thinking that the Chinese and Urdu exams are mainly offered for the benefit of the Chinese and Pakistani communities in Scotland. I don’t have anything against this per se, but surely it’s a bit unfair that Léon can’t sit a Danish Higher to get an easy A the same way as Marcel has benefited from having grown up speaking both English and French. How large does a ethnic minority need to be before it can get a Higher in its language, I wonder?

I dag var det første skoledag i East Renfrewshire Kommune, og da Anna blev født i december 2007, skulle hun begynde i P1 (1. klasse).

Hun har glædet sig meget, og det var en meget stolt og glad pige, der pilede ind i skolegården. Vi måtte ikke komme med ind og måtte vinke farvel til hende fra lågen.

I dag mødte hun kl. 9.30, men fra i morgen skal hun i skole hver dag fra 9 til 15, ligesom Léon, der nu er begyndt i 3. klasse.

Anna skal nu gå i “primary school” i de næste syv år, og så i gymnasiet (“high school”) i seks år, så hun bliver efter planen student, når hun er 17½.

Aldersmæssigt er P1-eleverne ca. to år yngre end danske 1. klasses-elever, så naturligvis er P1 ikke en kopi af en dansk førsteklasse, men inddrager elementer af en dansk børnehavneklasse (0. klasse). Eleverne har lært alfabetet og tallene i børnehaven (“preschool”), så de skal nu lære at læse, skrive og regne ordentligt, men naturligvis skal de også tegne og spille skuespil og den slags.

At the moment, the main reason why English students are not all going to university in Scotland (where university tuition is free, compared to English universities that will typically charge £27,000 for a 3-year degree) is that Scottish universities charge them up to £27,000 for their degree. This is only possible because the EU rule about not discriminating against EU students only applies to students from other EU countries (such as Ireland, Denmark or Bulgaria) and not to students from other parts of the UK (England, Wales and Northern Ireland).

As soon as Scotland regains her independence, rUK students become EU students and will have to be treated in the same way as students from Scotland.

However, some lessons can be learnt from Scandinavia. Denmark in theory has to treat Swedish students the same as Danish ones, but this is not the whole truth.

Denmark used to have a big problem with too many Swedes studying medicine in Copenhagen and then going home after graduation. In 2007, Denmark therefore did two things (link in Danish): (1) They changed the number of advanced highers (“højniveaufag”) a student needs to pass to get a grade top-up, which benefitted Danes in comparison with Swedes. (2) They changed the way they translated Swedish grades into Danes ones (that is, they made it harder for them to get in).

Apart from this, Denmark pays generous grants (typically £7616 per year) to university students who are either Danish citizens, have lived in Denmark for five years prior to starting university, or who have parents that are EU citizens and have moved to Denmark for work reasons. Other students don’t get a penny.

Scotland could copy some of these policies after independence. There are already plenty of differences between A Levels and Scottish Highers to provide opportunities for tweaking the entry requirements to make it harder for English students to get into Scottish universities (the brilliant ones would of course still get in, but that would be to Scotland’s advantage anyway), and Scotland could introduce tuition fees for everybody, but cancel out the effect by creating grants for Scottish citizens and long-term residents.

In an ideal world such measures shouldn’t be necessary, but until it dawns on the English that they’re shooting themselves in the foot by pricing bright young people out of universities, I fear that Scotland will have to take a leaf out of Denmark’s book.

Jag tog del i en språkkonferens i Köpenhamn i oktober, och dess slogan var: “Du förstår mer än du tror – om du törs”.

Jag är oenig. Danskar förstår inte svenska om de aldrig varit i Sverige, aldrig sett svenskt TV och aldrig haft svenska vänner, om de så törs eller inte.

Jag förstår svenska därför att en svensk flicka på mitt baskiskkurs i Donostia pratade svenska med mig i pauserna. Jag förstod inte ett ord av talad svenska före kursen.

Det vore mycket bättre att undervisa i svenska som främmande språk i danska skolor, om än ett mycket lätt främmande språk som eleverna snabbt kan lära. Målet skulle inte vara att prata 100% korrekt svenska, utan att förstå svensk som en infött och att kunna kommunicera med svensktalande utan kunskap i danska språket.

Om svenskar och norrmän gjorde detsamma, skulle den nordiska språkgemenskapen återigen väckas till liv.

Handelshøjskolen i København (eller Copenhagen Business School, som de kalder sig nu) blev vist ret sure, da en af deres kandidater fik at vide, at hun ikke kunne blive dansk statsborger, da hun havde fuldført et engelsksproget studium:

Af Justitsministeriets (Indfødsretskontorets) afslag af 16. november 2011 på Pavlina Ivanovas ansøgning om at opnå dansk statsborgerskab ved naturalisation fremgik det, at ”ministeriet ikke finder, at du kan omfattes af reglerne i § 11 i cirkulæreskrivelse nr. 61 af 22. september 2008 om retningslinjer for naturalisation, idet man ikke anser din cand.merc.-uddannelse i Finance and Strategic Management fra CBS for at opfylder betingelsen om at uddannelsen skal være ”af dansk karakter”, eftersom undervisningen og eksaminer på uddannelsen udelukkende er foregået på et andet sprog end dansk.”

Den var ny. En cand.merc.-uddannelse fra CBS er udviklet og udbudt på et statsfinansieret dansk universitet, er akkrediteret af ACE Denmark, og er godkendt af Uddannelsesministeriet (der sågar har en Styrelse for International Uddannelse, der skal fremme internationaliseringen af de danske uddannelser på alle niveauer, under sig) og er reguleret af dansk lovgivning på lige fod med CBS’ øvrige uddannelser. Skulle den være udansk? Ikke i CBS’ optik.

Men det er jo et interessant spørgsmål. Man kan godt få det indtryk, at danskere synes, at engelsk i Danmark er skønt, så længe det er engelsk talt af danskere, ikke hvis engelsk bruges af udlændinge, der bor i Danmark.

Men sagen er jo den, at den nuværende situation ikke kan forventes at være permanent. Hvis danske uddannelser og arbejdspladser i stigende grad er engelsksprogede, så vil der efterhånden opstå en større og større gruppe af mennesker, der bor i Danmark, men kun taler nødtørftigt dansk, da de bruger engelsk 95% af tiden.

Alt, der mangler, er, at det bliver tilladt at kommunikere med de offentlige myndigheder på engelsk, og så vil gruppen af engelsktalende nydanskere formentlig vokse år for år. Men tiden vil der sikkert også være forældre, som ikke engang kan se pointen i at lære deres børn ordentligt dansk.

Hvis det ikke er det, man vil, så bør man nok snart begynde at værne noget mere om det danske sprogs position ved ikke konstant at øge mængden af sammenhænge, hvor man kan (eller skal) bruge engelsk i stedet for dansk.

Alt er nu faldet på plads, og her er hans skema for S3 (altså det tredie af seks år i high school):

Mandag	Tirsdag	Onsdag	Torsdag	Fredag
Matematik	Personal and Social Education	Idræt	Engelsk	Kemi
Historie	Fysik	Spansk	Kunst	Matematik
Fransk	Engelsk	Fysik	Spansk	Engelsk
Engelsk	Kunst	Historie	Tutor groups	Religion
Idræt	Fransk	Kemi	Matematik	Idræt
Spansk	Matematik	Matematik	Historie	Fysik
Kunst	Kemi		Fransk

Da han skulle vælge fagene, skrev jeg flg.:

Marcel regner vistnok med at vælge historie, fysik, datalogi, idræt (eller drama) og kemi. Han ville dog meget hellere have haft spansk end datalogi, der ikke regnes for ret krævende af universiteterne.

Der er dog det specielle med Marcel, at skolen regner med, at han består S4-fransk allerede i år. Det ville gøre det ret absurd for ham at tage normale fransktimer i S3 og S4, så vi håber, de vil lade ham tage spansk i stedet (eller i hvert fald noget andet brugbart, såsom geografi eller biologi). Det finder vi nok ud af i næste uge.

Som det ses, fik han lov til at vælge spansk i stedet for datalogi, og han bestemte sig for kunst i stedet for idræt eller drama. Til gengæld fortsætter han med fransk, omend han ikke skal følge samme pensum som resten af klassen, da han skal til studentereksamen i fransk inden for de næste to år.

Opdatering (25/6): Marcel har nu fået lov til at tage idræt i stedet for kunst.

Today Leeds Metropolitan announced they’re planning to charge £8500 a year from 2012.

Given that Leeds Metropolitan (the former Leeds Polytechnic) is not considered a top university, this shows that almost no universities will charge the basic £6000.

According to the Guardian, “David Willetts, the universities minister, had anticipated that a market would develop, with institutions charging a wide range of fees”.

I don’t understand why he had anticipated that, though. If fees had to be paid upfront or paid back over a smallish number of years, you could have expected people to go for a cheap university unless employment prospects were exceptionally good at a dearer uni.

However, the way the CoLD coalition have created a system that means that most people will pay 9% of their salary for 30 years, after which time the loan is cancelled, for the majority of people there is never any real hope of paying back the loan early, so they might as well borrow as much as possible because the difference will be paid by the taxpayers.

In other words, if Leeds Metropolitan had decided to charge £6000 a year instead, very few of the graduates would by 2042 have paid any less for their education, so by charging £8500, they basically get £7500 extra per graduate over three years, all paid for by the state.

As I’ve said before, I think the whole idea of tuition fees and graduate taxes is a disaster, and we should make all education free again and pay for it by cutting down on the number of students.

In an article in The Herald it is claimed that “Scottish universities want to charge students fees of £12,000 for a four-year degree”.

Shocking as that is in its own right, I found the last part of the article even more interesting:

[U]niversities agreed with the Scottish Government to maintain student numbers this year, despite cuts to the teaching budget, by paying a portion of the costs themselves.

As a result, in 2011/12 some 19% of students, or nearly 28,000 learners, are “fees only students” – which means the Government pays only around a quarter of the cost of teaching them.

[...] [A]ny reduction of student numbers would hit first year students disproportionately hard, because universities cannot alter numbers in any other year. And it uses the example that, to achieve a 10% reduction in student numbers for a four-year course, first year admissions would have to be reduced by 40%.

Under last year’s total intake to Scottish universities of some 35,000 UK students, that would mean 14,000 fewer next year – although it is inconceivable cuts of this magnitude would be sanctioned by any Scottish Government. “If universities are not confident of the urgent introduction of a sustainable funding model, they will be forced to act to bring the student population back to a level which is closer to the number of fully funded student places. Failure to do so could jeopardise the quality and long-term reputation of Scotland’s universities,” the circular states.

“If student numbers had to be reduced, this would mean that increased numbers of well-qualified applicants would face rejection over late 2011, early 2012.”

I actually think it would be good to lower the number of university students in the medium term. There are far too many young people studying for degrees that aren’t going to help them find a job.

However, it’s not the best universities – such as Glasgow, Edinburgh and St. Andrews – that need to downsize; it’s the new ones that clearly aren’t as highly rated by employers.

Also, of course the government should create lots of good alternatives to a university study – I don’t suggest for one minute that the best alternative to going to university is simply to find a job straight after school.

Finally, it’s paramount that any change happens slowly. Reducing the number of university places by 40% in one year would be absolutely disastrous, which of course the universities know, which is why they’re saying it to call the government’s bluff.

Marcel går i S2, hvilket betyder 2. klasse i secondary school (eller high school), hvilket igen betyder, at han er i gang med sit niende skoleår. Da man begynder i skole tidligere end i Danmark, er han dog med sine 13½ år aldersmæssigt nok tættere på en dansk 7. klasse.

Han skal fra næste år kun have otte fag, og engelsk, matematik og fransk (fortsættersprog) er selvskrevne, så han skal vælge fem fag.

Efter yderligere to år skæres antallet af fag yderligere ned til fem, som man så tager en såkaldt higher i.

Nogle af valgene kan aldrig gøres om, mens andre (som fx biologi) kan tages som en såkaldt crash higher i S6, hvor man altså lærer, hvad man ellers ville have lært i S3, S4 og S5. (S6 kan også bruges til at tage advanced highers, og til at tage highers, man ikke havde tid til i S5.)

Hvilke fag, han kan vælge, er lidt kompliceret. Fagene er indtil i grupper, og han skal vælge ét fag fra hver gruppe:

Hvis man vil have muligheden for at studere på et godt universitet, bør man nok begrænse sig til de akademiske fag, altså historie eller geografi i gruppe D, og spansk eller kemi i gruppe H.

Marcel regner vistnok med at vælge historie, fysik, datalogi, idræt (eller drama) og kemi. Han ville dog meget hellere have haft spansk end datalogi, der ikke regnes for ret krævende af universiteterne.

Der er dog det specielle med Marcel, at skolen regner med, at han består S4-fransk allerede i år. Det ville gøre det ret absurd for ham at tage normale fransktimer i S3 og S4, så vi håber, de vil lade ham tage spansk i stedet (eller i hvert fald noget andet brugbart, såsom geografi eller biologi). Det finder vi nok ud af i næste uge.