Subject Comparisons-a Scottish Perspective

The perceived difficulty of modern foreign languages and the mathematical and science subjects at A level has been suggested as a cause of their relative decline in popularity in England and Wales (Fitz-Gibbon & Vincent, 1994) and similar views have been expressed in Scotland about the study of modern foreign languages (Kent, 1996). By constructing 'difficulty' in terms of differences between the average grades obtained in different subjects in A level or Higher grade examinations, particularly by candidates of 'similar ability', the 'relative difficulty' of different subjects can be determined. When this was done for the Scottish Higher grade subjects, it was found that subject 'difficulty' varied significantly between different sub-groups, categorised by gender, ability and particular interests, which suggests that the construct is not meaningful. It was further concluded that this 'difficulty' is probably not an important factor in determining students' choice of subject options.