Why you should never tell a student that their exams were/are easier than their predecessor's exams

Ahh, another age old debate. But this time, I have a real knowledge, and not just my (also slightly biased)opinion: Are kids getting cleverer or is school/ college/ uni getting easier?

I read a news article today asking just that. But it didn't end up answering it's own question, so I decided to have a go at answering it for them.

I would lOVE to say that my generation is simply cleverer than my parent's generation, but I don't think that's strictly true. I would also like to point out that my mum truly thinks that if she had done any of the work she's seen me doing, she wouldn't have done as well as me. This may not be true for all adults in her generation, but I've heard plenty of adults who are completely bemused over things I find quite simple.

And no way are the exams getting easier. Believe me, I have always found the work I've done to be quite hard. But I've worked hard and therefore gotten the grades that I think I deserve. In fact, my first year at uni has been very difficult, and I think it's amazing that so many people going have gotten firsts and upper seconds. Especially when I think myself lucky for even passing something. So well done to them for their hard work and determination to suceed, which is one thing their parents probably don't take into account.

But no, I don't think that generation are stupid either. I think that since they went to school, there have been way better teaching methods developed. More has gone into education and so we have gotten more out of it. That's why more of us are getting into college and uni and getting degrees. Forget cleverness, all humans have that same ability to learn. We have just learnt in a more effective way than our parents did.

I bet if they were taught the same way I have been, they would give me a run for my money come exam time.

So really, it's not a case of young people being cleverer or exams being easier (because they're not, they're REALLY hard as far as I'm concerned), it's about being taught well enough to ace the said exam and remember all those facts, or write the right things.