Views on the HL Maths bonus 25 points

Muir

Patchy~ wrote: »

I actually found calculus to be the most enjoyable/easy part of the course too...it really makes no sense to remove it.

Also agree. Once you get it it's great. & if you do it in college it starts to become second nature you do it so much.
I've used a small amount of probability in college, but I see that as far more useful if you want to be a poker player or something.

HeaneyBabe

We'll see tomorrow if it's fair or not..

Sunny!!

i was on the fence about the 25 extra for maths, but after seeing some of the increases in points definetely should be gone!!

Jackies green army

my word have the department ****ed up the CAO disgraceful, absolute bastards.

Liveforrugby

God bless maths, god bless maths bonus points and god bless the dude who came up with the idea

#lifeisgood, #nocomplaints

Roniboney

missed out by 5 points now.Great.Thanks HL Maths

Cruel Sun

Roniboney wrote: »

missed out by 5 points now.Great.Thanks HL Maths

Same as.

Roniboney

Cruel Sun wrote: »

Same as.

What course?

Cruel Sun

Roniboney wrote: »

What course?

Comp Sci, UCD. You?

Jackies green army

me too lads, unbelievably unfair coupled with the fact that there is the highest amount of applications from the UK.

Roniboney

Cruel Sun wrote: »

Comp Sci, UCD. You?

Food Science UCD.

I'll get a DIT course.I was in UCD for 2 years and tbh your not missing out on much.

Have a friend going into 4th year of comp science.That course was ridiculous man.60 point increase.410 to 470.Absolute dicks

An0n

I dropped down to Ordinary Mathematics early 5th year.
A couple of weeks after, the bonus points system was announced.

Being a little silly, I thought it would be best to stick with ordinary level Mathematics at the time. But during 6th year I excelled in Mathematics, ace-ing the pre-pres and pres. When I was bored in the library I'd tackle higher level calculus without study. I found it very very interesting. The rest of higher Mathematics didn't really entertain me other than algebra and trigonometry.

Alas, I got my A1 in Ordinary Mathematics and honestly; I fully regret not taking up the higher. If I had known about the bonus points at the very beginning, I would have stayed on. They should have definitely left it off another year to let it seep in thoroughly before commencing.

Ireland has a very poor standard of mathematics acedemically speaking, so I don't think giving mathematics an extra 25 points was very wise at all. 25 is a huge number for 1 subject. It should have had an percentage distribution, per se, if one got 100 points in mathematics, then one get the 25 bonus points; but if one got 50 points, then one would get 12.5. That would have evened off the distribution. Awarding only the most talented. Or, having the points generally reduced to let's say, 10; would have far lessoned the impact.

Oh well, it's too late for speculation now. Happy with my course

biohaiid

Hate it more than ever now.
Missed out by 20 points.
I think most courses in the 500s got screwed over this year.

MOR66

Jackies green army wrote: »

my word have the department ****ed up the CAO disgraceful, absolute bastards.

Couldn't agree with you more

Owen_S

My post from a previous thread, still have the same opinion after today's offers:

The points are an incentive to people who could do Higher Level maths for the Leaving Cert, but choose not to because of the relative increase in workload and stress compared to Ordinary Level. Before, it would be a simple decision, do Ordinary Level to concentrate on other subjects for points, but the 25 bonus points gives them a dilemma.

The 6% increase in students taking the subject at Higher Level(now 22%, previously 16%) this year combined with the very low failure rate shows that there were always more than 16% capable of succeeding in the subject.

ViveLaVie

EuropeanSon wrote: »

Yes, it is fair. It's not nice for them, but it's fair. Talent at Maths is more highly valued, therefore it gets a higher reward. It isn't complicated, I don't see what you don't get.

I did HL everything, so to me it wouldn't matter.

It's not more highly valued in courses where Maths isn't required or used. Yet these courses are rising in points so that students with Maths skills are prioritised over students with other abilities in areas that are more relevant.

Incentivising Maths at LC level does little to encourage people to study Maths based courses in college. Those who do well in Maths are likely to consider Maths based courses anyway. Those who get D3s and C3s are highly unlikely to pursue Maths at third level. It should be incentivised at third level.

Kristofferson wrote: »

The only important languages in the world right now, are English and Mandarin. Since we already know how to speak one of them and the other one is rarely thought in this country, I dont see how giving bonus points for languages (except mandarin maybe) would make sense.

Mandarin is not one of the most important languages in the world. It is isolated to China. After English, Spanish is the biggest language in the world. That argument doesn't work anyway. Maybe we should get rid of all second languages because English is the only one that matters?

Kristofferson wrote: »

In the grand scheme of things, the benefits of Maths over Irish is huge. Learning the Irish language has the same benefits as learning Irish music and dance. And there is nothing wrong with that. Im all in the favor of keeping our culture alive but this can be done outside of school.

There are huge benefits to learning a second language. It's been proven to improve IQ and expand thinking and cognitive ability. It also teaches specific skills. Acquiring Irish properly then makes it easier to acquire additional languages and there are a wealth of jobs that require proficiency in more than English.

Kristofferson wrote: »

We wouldnt be able to have this conversation if it wasnt for alpha,beta and log rhythms. Nearly everything that is done in the real world involves Maths, if you dont appreciate that, get your pc and burn it. I appreciate our Irish culture but Im realistic at the same time.

You also wouldn't be able to have that conversation without language. Everything in the real world involves the use of language, effective communication and logic. Learning a second language further develops these skills. Redundant point.

Kristofferson wrote: »

No im not trolling. I love our Irish culture (especially Irish music) but Maths is so much more important on an economic level. This cannot be denied. They are not awarding bonus points based on the difficulty of the subject but rather on the necessity of it.

Just because my comments can sometimes be harsh doesnt mean that i am trolling.

Other subjects are just as crucial yet they are not rewarded. Someone who gets a D3 in HL Maths is not going to use Maths at a later stage. Literacy in Ireland is very poor in comparison to our European neighbours, yet English is not being incentivised. Critical thinking and literacy are pretty important on an economic level but subjects that foster these skills are not rewarded either.

Namlub

Owen_S wrote: »

The 6% increase in students taking the subject at Higher Level(now 22%, previously 16%) this year combined with the very low failure rate shows that there were always more than 16% capable of succeeding in the subject.

The very low failure rate is a result of blatant manipulation of the marking scheme though; not trying to reduce the achievement of those who did HL, but the pass rate is completely out of line with previous years.