Grade Inflation: Are A-Levels Becoming Easier?

A-Level Grade Inflation.

Thousands of students across the UK will find out their all important A-level results tomorrow as newspapers report record levels of competition for the most sought after university places.

As expected, the mainstream press are pointing to another record year for A-level pass rates prompting the usual complaints about falling standards and the dumbing down of the British education system.

At Votetub.com, we know that education has been one of the most important political issues in the first 100 days of coalition government, so we’ve decided to steal a march on tomorrow’s headlines and join the debate on grade inflation:

Are A-Levels getting easier or are students becoming smarter?

This is difficult to compare directly over time despite the newspaper hyperbole. Many newspapers claim that with 98% pass rates A-levels are now near impossible to fail. However this oft quoted statistic takes a “pass” as achieving any grade A-G rather then A-C as is commonly thought.

Similarly, modern A-Levels, unlike their predecessors, are now modular in structure allowing students to sit exams over the full two year period of teaching. This continuous nature of assessment gives students more opportunity to prove their competence, which should in theory improve grades and reduce stress levels.

It is often suggested that teachers are under increased pressure to improve pass rates as opposed to providing a broad understanding of the subject. Arguably, the students of today are not necessarily smarter but simply more prepared for exams.

Information technology also has a role to play. Modern students have far wider access to educational resources as a result of the internet and have become more productive at synthesising information to produce high quality work in a shorter period of time.

However, most commentators are sceptical that student-side factors alone cab explain continued rises in attainment. If students aren’t getting smarter then the logical conclusion must be that A-levels are getting easier to complete an explanation for year-on-year grade inflation.

Criticising the Current System

Most commentators on education policy accept that the current A-level system is in-part to blame for the annual accusations that A-levels are becoming easier then ever before:

The following criticisms are often levelled at the current A-Level system:

Schools manipulate the exam system

Critics argue that government intervention provides incentives for schools to allocate resources inequitably.

Educators know that ultimately their performance will only be measured according to narrow league table metrics which have an impact on future funding.

Teachers are therefore encouraged to spend a disproportionate amount of time teaching students hovering over important grade boundaries then others who might also need assistance.

Examination boards “dumb down” content

Schools also put pressure on the independent exam boards such as OCR or AQA to progressively “dumb down” the content and specification of A-level exams.

Schools have a vested interest in choosing the exam board that produces the most overall passes. Therefore competing exam boards have a vested interest to dumb down exams making the grade criteria as easily attainable as possible.

Students strategically choose “soft subjects”

Finally, students have a vested interest in picking softer subjects which are most likely to add to their overall UCAS score. Students know that universities are ultimately preoccupied with their final grades as opposed to their choice of A-level subject, creating incentives to avoid harder A-levels and pick “soft subjects”.

Possible Solutions to Grade Inflation

Neil O Brien, of the Telegraph, has suggested using percentile scores could resolve the current debate over A-level grade inflation

The benefits are significant. Employers and universities would be able to distinguish different levels of ability: this year, a fifth of students got an A or A* at GCSE, and a quarter got an A at A-level, which doesn’t help universities select the brightest.

Percentiles would also make the system fairer, by showing which students had just missed a grade, or scraped in above the grade boundary.

There are other advantages. The new measure would help end the widespread manipulation of the exam system, which sees schools neglect students of greater or lesser ability in favour of those hovering between grades D and C, on the grounds that league tables count the number of pupils with five GCSE passes at grade C or higher.

Not only is this unfair on schools that don’t try to play the system, but it can also give a false impression – have schools got better, or just better at meeting targets? Having a percentile alongside the normal results fits with a more balanced approach that focuses on all children equally.