Last week's article looked at the challenges for Form One students. This week we focus on the students entering Form Six. These students have every reason to expect great things of themselves. They have the proof of their success at secondary school: a full certificate of passes and entry to Form Six. Surely they are entitled to move onto the next stage sure of themselves and ready for fresh triumphs. Pull up, selector. It isn't as easy as all that. To start, whether you will be doing 'A' Levels or CAPE, this is another examination level altogether. CXC and 'O' Levels, while demanding, aren't at the same standard. To quote from the Cambridge exams website, the 'O' Level curriculum aims "...to develop learner knowledge, understanding and skills in:
• Subject content
• Intellectual enquiry
• Flexibility and responsive ?
ness to change
• Influencing outcomes
• Cultural awareness
• Applying knowledge and
understanding to familiar
and new situations
• Working and communicating
in English."
That's quite a list. But the Advanced Level is even more ambitious. The aim here is "...to build an individualised curriculum that develops your learners' knowledge, understanding and skills in:
• In-depth subject content
• Independent thinking
• Handling and evaluating
different types of
information sources
• Thinking logically and
presenting ordered and
coherent arguments
• Making judgements,
recommendations and
decisions
• Presenting reasoned
explanations, understanding
implications and
communicating them
clearly and logically
• Working and communicating
in English
• Applying knowledge and
understanding to new as well
as familiar situations".
Only the last two of these aims remain the same from one level to the next. The Advanced Level syllabus clearly demands extensive development of logic and analytic skills. It is also explicitly described as a preparation for university study.
So students entering Form Six need to be aware of the following facts:
• Firstly, they will be asked to handle the course material at an entirely different level, so the relatively straightforward comprehension and recapitulation of CXC will not suffice.
• Secondly, because this is a different level of endeavour, the distinctions and 'A' grades which were so plentiful at CXC level will not be thick on the ground here. It is now common for students entering Lower 6 to have a CXC certificate with several distinctions. This gives them unrealistic expectations about what their performance is going to be like in Form Six and there can be real shock at the first set of exam marks.
• Thirdly, students should not despair. Keep in mind that a good CAPE or Advanced Level teacher is going to set standards that are even higher than the exam expectations and so will be rigorous in her/his marking of exams, projects and papers. This means that, ideally, students will eventually find the actual exam easier than their school exams and will perform accordingly. But it means accepting some low marks along the way as you work hard to reach your teachers' standards.
Once again, parents need to be understanding and not worry. If 70 per cent and over is a good average for secondary school up to Form Five, then 60 per cent and over is a good average for Form Six. Note that this is 'good', so you may expect lower marks as your child works his or her way up to 'good'. Once you know your child is making a real effort and has good teachers, give all the support you can. That's the formula for the best possible results. However, parents should also keep in mind that this is a difficult curriculum and students may need more than one chance to get the results they want.
Good luck, Form Sixes. We wish you the best along the way.
