I just finished my A2 exams 2 weeks ago. phy, chem, maths and further maths.

Well first of all lets just say further maths is extremely challenging.

Secondly, I feel that the reason why STPM is "tough" is because of its rigid and non-flexible marking scheme. In subjective questions, students must give memorised answers or those specified in textbooks to gain marks. Any workaround, or answering in a manner of a road less taken, however logical the answer is, will fall outside of the boundaries of the marking scheme and be given the axe.

overseas a-level courses, however, forces students to think and be confident of their own answers, as long as it is logical and correct. there is no rigidity here as all answers will be given equal considerations. In cambridge, for example, teaching representatives from different countries gather annually to formulate a marking scheme which encompasses a wide range of language and level of knowledge. Even for a single subject like chemistry, the A-level marking scheme is as thick as a 100 page book, with most possible answers listed. The published scheme on the cambridge DVD only carry the "best", or the default answer suited for the mean level of knowledge of most A-level students. Thus, in A-levels (cambridge, at least), if you give a Ph. D- level solution, or answer in a foreign language such as malay, the markers will still consider the solution and find ways and means to verify it.

This is not surprising given the vast resources available to international organisations like CIE or Edexcel. Also, being such an organisation, they are also subject to scrutiny of participating nations, effectively forcing them to renew and update their syllabuses and content regularly to meet global needs.

On the question of "which one harder", one shouldn't ask that. Instead, consider which one will give you more benefit as a person when u graduate. Would the rigidity and tenacity of the STPM course suit u more, or do you prefer the more critical-thinking oriented A-levels?

True, our country's education system is derived from the british system, and it is a good challenge even for bright students. But bear in mind that the system in our country has remain unchanged for the past umpteenth years (aside from the teaching in Malay, and then back to english for maths n science) and i believe some of the things in the curriculum is not relevant in today's world.

For me, I have taken enough bullSh from our very own SPM. In pendidikan moral, 'menghormati golongan kurang upaya' and 'menghormati golongan kurang berupaya' means a difference of one mark, even though both answers are perfectly logical in its context. It is little things like these that eventually led me not to believe in our country's education system. coupled with the biasness in giving marks, quota system, and those things yang tidak boleh dipersoalkan.

This post has been edited by Hoong.ster: Dec 5 2008, 01:48 PM

Well of course the thread starter specified two courses for comparison: STPM and A-Levels.

Certainly we could bring in other less exam-oriented programs like IB, but that discussion we shall leave it for another day no?

Well, the topic is "Which one harder?, STPM or Matriks or A level??"

If you want to make brief comparisons with other courses, i guess you could.....