Grade inflation over A-levels and GCSEs now absurd – Yorkshire Post Letters

THE International Baccalaureate’s global average was steady for the first 50 years and is only marginally up for the two Covid years.

As for A-levels, the percentage of A grades held fairly steady from the early 1960s to the 
mid-80s at around nine per cent but thereafter they soared, reaching 27 per cent by 2010.

By then, the same percentage of pupils achieved an A* as achieved an A in 1984. This year was absurd: 45 per cent gained an A while 20 per cent gained an A* (The Yorkshire Post, August 11).

Any attempt to maintain standards is faced with an alliance of government, schools, exam boards, parents and pupils, all of whom want higher grades.

Understandably politicians and teachers want to boast about doing a good job, but do parents seriously believe that a grade handed out to half the population will guarantee their child a place at Oxbridge and the professional job-for-life available for the elite five per cent of the 1960s boomers?

From: Leslie Reid, Senior Communications (Press) Officer, Ofqual.

WE read with interest your editorial comment piece (The Yorkshire Post, April 10) on A-levels and GSCEs this year. Thank you for your coverage in recent weeks.

For your information, we wish to respectfully point out that Simon Lebus, our interim chief regulator, does not believe teacher-assessed grades are superior or fairer to exams in normal years.

Indeed, he is on the record many times as saying exams are our preferred method of assessment in a normal year.

Unfortunately, Simon’s words on Radio 4’s Today programme on Monday have been taken out of context. He was speaking in the context of 2021 arrangements.

Using “holistic” teachers’ assessments was considered a more equitable approach for 2021 after the Government cancelled exams, with differences in learning in the pandemic between students. But the “snapshot” of exams is preferred in a normal year when students have been taught the same curriculum.

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