Now, now Dave.....
The Higher Maths exam I did in 1981 was a hell of a lot more theoertical and advanced than what they do now, I should know I was an examiner in 2009!
owever, I agree, to a point, with your very poor attempt to involve modern technology by insult! I agree with the use of technology, computers, calculators, et al, after all I dinna take my claes doon to the river and bang the off rocks to make em clean (or as my mother would have said "why have a dog and bark yourself") but....
Big but........
The buggers need to know what the techology is doing, they just dinna need it to make life/exams "easier"
Real life example, in 2002 I was shopping but the toon I was in suffered a massive powercut. All APOS/tills down etc. I could still count out how much I was due, but the number of people my age (40's) t5hat couldn't was frightening. Virtually no-one under 25 had a hope. But the grannies all could!
Point?
You can use the technology to help, but you need to know what it's helping you do, and modern exams dinna teach that!
Teachers these days are under too much pressure to produce results that they "coach the exam questions" they dinna teach, one of the reasons I HATED being a PT in a big school in Aberdeen where that was all that mattered, not "have they actually LEARNED anything"
Oh, and exams ARE easier now.
I passed 6 highers in 81, 4 A's and 2 B's and by todays standards I'd be a fucking genius, today we have kids doing 3 highers who are the "best"?