Gendering Subjects: A Levels and the Art/Science divide

04Dec09

In 2007 the Guardian published this article.

It claimed that students who take “art” and “non-traditional” subjects, including traditional subjects such as English and History are going down an “easy path”. “Research” was undertaken that apparently proved that science, maths and languages were more difficult than arts subjects and therefore universities, when accepting students, should take science subjects more “seriously”. These standards of “difficulty” are based on those blunt things called grades: at pass and failure rates.

Now the results are actually OUT, published by the same media source (The Guardian) a couple of weeks later, let’s actually SEE which subjects are “easiest” according to these grade standards.

English A grades: 23.2%
History A grades: 25.3%

Now for “non-traditional” subjects:

General Studies (the lovable punching bag for eye-rolling subject snobs): 12.3%

Psychology A grades: 19%
Sociology: 21.3%
Performing/Expressive arts: 14.8%

And now for these “more difficult” subjects (sciences, maths, languages):

Biology A grades: 26.2%
Chemistry A grades: 32.4%
Physics: 30.8%
Maths: 43.7%
French: 36.3%
German: 37.2%
Spanish: 38%

Clearly, sciences, maths and languages have got considerably higher grades than English, History and ‘non-traditional’ subjects. Unlike certain people in the media, I wouldn’t be dumb or superficial enough to regard these subjects are ‘easier’ just because more people got A grades. What pisses me off about the Guardian article is that people will read “students take soft a levels such as English and History” and further perpetuate the damaging stereotype that arts subjects are easier, and by inference, inferior. Employers, parents, perhaps even universities will take this nonsense into account and make students-to-be feel bad about doing ‘arts’ subjects.

As a side note, these results also overturn another stereotype: that women can’t do physics. Although females consistently perform better than boys in almost every subject and do so considerably, according to these statistics, 35.3% of girls got A grades for physics whereas 29.5% of boys did. As for English, a subject regarded as “female” and IS when you look at the gender ratio at university, females were only better than males by 0.3% instead of the gigantic 5.8% difference between the sexes in physics.

Inaccurate media portrayals of an utterly ridiculous “hierarchy” of subjects are not only misleading and condescending, but inaccurate and damaging. Furthermore, the grandiose claim that A-Levels are getting easier is certainly not backed up by the clearest and most damaging discrepancy of all: class. So while boys at Eton might collect qualifications like scouts badges, a large number of children out there from impoverished backgrounds have their problems drowned out by the sensationalist cry, “A Levels are getting easier!”

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Tags: a levels, arts/science divide, british education, education, gender, gender stereotypes