This kind of crap really angers me, he is a drug dealer, and according to Chinese law he got what he deserved.

At least, not in the way they currently are. The majority of the population don't need to know about quadratic equations, but they do need to know how to read a bill, work out their taxes, know about interest, know how to budget effectively, know when not to get ripped off by money scams, know how to interpret statistics and tables in the news, and (on the science side) know when discoveries and explanations they hear on the news are plausible, know why the weather happens, know what a good diet is and how it will affect your body.

In short, maths and science for life. That doesn't mean dumbed down or easier, that means just focused on life skills rather than pure concepts. And in return, the pure subject option shouldn't have random 'So why is pig farming unethical' questions in the middle of a Chemistry exam (seriously).

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@SciFiBoy

Tests aren't ideal, but they are the best out of the methods. The right kind of testing can go beyond memorisation and into understanding, for example a less able person would see a list of 100 facts to memorise and get 70 right on the day, whereas someone with ability would see 10 key things and a set of rules and ideas to extrapolate to the rest or apply it in different circumstances. Then they'll get 90% of the stuff right. I don't need to revise for A-level Chemistry because it makes sense if you think about what carbon is, what electrons are, etc. whereas my class are learning 50 chemical equations by rote. But they're all the same equation, by the same core rules!

Coursework rewards colouring in and presentation. It would be nice if coursework was graded academically but every piece I've submitted got much lower grades than I expected because it wasn't pretty enough, no coloured borders on text boxes [Electronics coursework] or the my conclusion didn't consider the ethics of shopping [Geography]. I got the academic stuff completely right, even my teachers said so. The other problem is cheating (I've seen plenty of that), or, worse, teachers telling the class exactly what to write to pass (that's not one teacher, that's almost EVERY school). Example: French. To get an A on the writing exam you needed a few sentences with basic grammar and reasonable vocabulary. To get an A on the coursework you needed perfect grammar, a huge range of vocab and much more complex ideas. Why? Because teachers across the country were rewriting parts of the students' coursework, or allowing redrafts, or writing key phrases in help booklets for each piece.