Just wanted to clear this up though, it's pretty hard to cheat on the EE. They all get sent off overseas to be marked by external assessors, then they get checked a second time by a moderator appointed by the IBO to make sure the grade's fair. In addition, they run numerous anti-plagiarism checks etc .
There's a huge difference between plagiarising something already written, which is incredibly easy to detect, and having somebody write it for you. I had a friend do the IB and I gave her some advice for her EE - if I'd written the whole damn thing, I can't see how it'd be detected if she was smart enough to be involved in the process and not just submit it at the end.
I do like the idea of the VB (lol at the acronym), it just needs to be adjusted to make it more appropriate. The idea of having students learn a LOTE and write a research essay is a very good one, just needs to be finessed into the current system better.
Agree with pretty much all of this.
I've been told that people get help with their TOK essays, and also that in some cases people are getting their 160 hours signed off on by the authorized person/s when they haven't even done some or most of it.
As many people said in the comments of the article, the two main problems with the whole thesis thing are that firstly, the majority of VCE students (possibly even teachers...) wouldn't have a clue how to write a thesis, and secondly, putting a large chunk of the assessment down to something which students could easily get someone else to do for them is ridiculous and has close to no integrity. This type of assessment will do nothing more than further extend the gap between private and government schools in terms of equality and fairness.
The only fair way to assess students purely on their own ability is to make them sit exams. To replace exams with a thesis is ludicrous. A lot of undergrad arts subjects at uni still have exams anyway, so it is not like it is preparing these students for uni at all.
I don't disagree with the Minister's ideas, but if the government doesn't execute this properly it will be a disaster. I spoke to him a few weeks ago, and he seemed like a decent bloke so I will reserve my judgement.
The main thing which I don't see the point in however is why we need a whole new VB? The IB is far superior. Why waste money, time and effort on something when it already exists?
These proposed changes could easily be incorporated into the current VCE system with some minor tweaking. For example, in the VCE humanities subjects, why not replace the SAC component with a couple of 25% extended research essays or theses or whatever they want to name them?
As for everyone ranting on about VCE not being well rounded...it certainly could be. All that merely has to happen here is selectional restrictions need to be placed on subject choices. I would think something along the lines of 1 x English, Maths and LOTE as a minimum. Similarly, it would not be hard to introduce a community service requirement into the program.
But the bottom line of my argument is that exams have to stay for at least half of the assessment in virtually all subjects. It is the only way to keep the system at least somewhat fair...which students deserve in a year where the stakes are high and students dreams and careers are on the line. Exams don't have to be written. I'd love for a greater emphasis on oral and/or practical exams, but that costs money and will probably never happen.
I am pretty old school, and personally would love nothing more than to do away with SACs and have VCE assessment based entirely on exams, but in this day and age I know that is unreasonable and not going to happen. But honestly, exams are the ultimate test. If you can cope with exam pressure, then there won't be much else that you can't do. Also, exams are a fantastic way to ensure students learn all of the content. Assignments, essays etc. on the other hand only require knowledge of what is being tested and hence students get away with learning certain aspects of the course. Of course, the humanities based subjects need the freedom for research so people can write about their own ideas, which is why a balance between exams and take home essays needs to be found. But if the exam component of subjects is removed, the system will become grossly unfair and be left open to rorting on a scale which has never been seen before.
Home
Help
Search
Login
