More data for you to try
Joint Council for General Qualifications
National Provisional GCSE (Full Course) Results - June 2002 (All UK candidates)
The figures in brackets are the equivalent figures for 2001
|
Subject |
Gender |
Number sat |
% of total number sat |
Cumulative Percentages by Grade |
|
A |
C |
G |
|
All subjects |
male |
2 808 433
(2 789 551) |
100.0 |
13.7
(13.4) |
53.4
(52.6) |
97.5
(97.6) |
|
female |
2 853 939
(2 843 385) |
100.0 |
19.0
(18.7) |
62.4
(61.5) |
98.3
(98.3) |
|
total |
5 662 382
(5 632 936) |
100.0 |
16.4
(16.1) |
57.9
(57.1) |
97.9
(97.9) |
Most of the press reports noted that the percentage passes at Grade C or better had increased both for boys or girls.
Some implied that the data meant that 62.4% of females got a Grade C or better at GCSE. Is this what the table shows? If not, what does it show? (From these figures alone, is it possible that nearly all females got at least one GCSE Grade C or better?)
Many of the press reports emphasised the gap between boys and girls passing at Grade C or better (a gap of 9 percentage points, 62.4 - 53.4). Some also noted that this gap had increased from the 8.9 percentage points of the year before (61.5 - 52.6). Is this reasonable?
One head commented that the boys were doing relatively worse because of the "laddish culture" in society that means boys are growingly more anti-education. Can you see anything in the data that would argue against this explanation?
Some of the press picked up on the fact that the proportion of passes at Grade C or better for all pupils had been increasing every year for the past 14 years. Some interpreted this as saying that pupils were getting better and better each year. What other explanation do you think was also suggested? What would you need to know to be able to distinguish between these two possible explanations? (Perhaps there is some truth in both.)
None of the press comment mentioned possible natural variation in results. Since no examinations for two successive years will be of exactly the same difficulty, or be marked identically, how do you think the grade marks are decided? How does this affect your interpretation of the figures?
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