GCSE / level 3 statistics

[Amber]

I agree with everything Amber says

As is right and proper .

To be clear - no money has changed hands. But I do have some very big and fierce henchmen.
Tempting to air my views on the role of sports broadcasts in national life at this point, but that might be pushing my luck a little.

As you were. I am struggling with stats now as I need to get to grips with quantitative analysis. Calculating standard deviation has to be the worst thing I have ever done. So I am all for statistics. Especially when other people do it.

Eta - that is interesting G55. Not heard of that variant.

[kenyancowgirl]

Amber, this precisely sums up what DD's school does! They all take maths in Y10, even those who are struggling Then in Y11, those who didn't do well re-take, while those who did start Y11 studying both further maths and statistics and a decision is made nearer the summer as to which (or both) of those they will sit.

This has worked reasonably well for DD who will want to do science A levels but not maths as it takes her maths a little further than GCSE. But it's still a rubbish policy imho. I agree with everything Amber says.

KB, I think that's unduly harsh – statistics is a well established GCSE and from what I have seen of it is at least as tough academically as maths, albeit that it concentrates on just one aspect.

I may be wrong, but I suspect early takes of GCSEs in Y10, with the reliance on resetting in Y11 if the grade isn't acceptable, will become less of the norm now, since only the first sitting grade will count for the league tables. I hope schools will use a bit more discretion deciding who will take any exams early - also, more and more Unis are only looking at grades for exams that were taken in one sitting, which seems to negate the previous "bonus" of taking an exam a year early.

[Rob Clark]

I also reiterate previous concerns about students taking science A levels without Maths - do check that future options are not going to be curtailed.

DD doesn't want to be a doctor, dentist or vet – are there other areas where not doing maths alongside the chemistry, biology and psychology she is planning to do would be an issue?

[marigold]

I did a sociology degree and had to do two years of statistics, the words standard deviation even now make me feel a little unwell. My eldest started psychology A level and needed to do quite a lot of statistics, she floundered as she was certainly not " top table " maths.
Without wishing to sound flippant I think a decent grounding in statistics and how to read them is probably a darn fine lesson for all to learn...especially for those who may be prone to reading the Mail on Line in future life. I would highly recommend a GCSE in the subject if it is on offer.

[Amber]

DD doesn't want to be a doctor, dentist or vet – are there other areas where not doing maths alongside the chemistry, biology and psychology she is planning to do would be an issue?

Mathematician maybe?

I think for any serious science course at university evidence of AS level Maths is handy. I think most good university Psychology courses like you to have done A level Maths. But I may be wrong.

In fact you don't need A level itself for any of those you mention, only AS.

[Minesatea]

Alot of the science degrees DS is looking at require A level maths, but they are mostly physics related. However some chemical/ biochemical engineering courses either require or prefer maths at A level.

[Guest55]

Often at university statistics is not 'taught' you are just told what to do! This means you never really understand the theory so if they learn so at school they have a better chance of understanding what standard deviation means! (It's the average difference from the mean and tells us how spread out the data is)

[Tinkers]

Alot of the science degrees DS is looking at require A level maths, but they are mostly physics related. However some chemical/ biochemical engineering courses either require or prefer maths at A level.

I think you would be very hard pressed to find an engineering degree course that you didn't need A level maths.

I 'did' stats as part of my chemical eng degree. It's of particular use in powder technology.

Despite being very good at maths in general, I really don't get stats. I suspect for the reasons G55 says.

[Rob Clark]

DD doesn't want to be a doctor, dentist or vet – are there other areas where not doing maths alongside the chemistry, biology and psychology she is planning to do would be an issue?

Mathematician maybe?

Don't think she will go down the engineering route, more likely to do a degree in biology or more general science degree I think.

[solimum]

Don't think she will go down the engineering route, more likely to do a degree in biology or more general science degree I think.

I'm probably biased as I have a Maths degree myself, but my three DC have all done Maths A level: one went on to do Engineering, one Maths and one is currently studying Pharmacology ( having started on Biochemistry within a Life Sciences department). All have found a substantial mathematical content to their degree courses! and without the A level I'm sure my DD would struggle with some aspects of the course. There is a lot of experimental work where understanding of graphical methods, statistics, rates of change etc is vital. When their ideas about what they might like to do are still vague, and likely to change as they discover what university level study is actually about it seems prudent to keep options open.

Plus there are no essays to write!