Another success - Quelle Suprise!

Yesterday was a big day for schools around the country. I had hoped to write this yesterday but my mind was filled with all kinds of everything and I hated the idea of replacing it with work. It’s still my holiday and I’m going to hang on to every last second of it.

Yesterday was the day the A-level and AS-level results came out. Newspapers all over England, Wales and Northern Ireland proclaimed it as the best results ever. They proclaimed this even though the printing deadline must have been hours before the results came out. How could they possibly know? Do they have insiders leaking information? Have they been tapping phone lines again? Or, and I’m suggesting that this may be the most likely, were they working on the assumption that it would be the best year so far because last year was then the best so far, and the year before was at that point the best so far, and the year before that…

Almost a quarter of UK A-level entries were awarded the top grade this year... The overall A-level pass rate rose for the 24th year... As usual, the Northern Ireland entries were the most successful this year, with a pass rate of 97.7% and almost a third - 32.4% - awarded A grades. - bbc.co.uk

Now, in any other industry such steady improvement would be hailed as a great achievement, if not a minor miracle; and yet in education it is greeted with controversy and suspicion. Why? Well perhaps people are starting to wonder why these same pupils who are gaining outstanding results at A-level and (lets not stop with secondary education) good 2-1 degrees at University lack basic literacy and numeracy skills needed in the workplace. Maybe they’re wondering why these high fliers are great at texting and copying things from the internet but have mediocre conversational skills. Maybe they’re wondering why someone with an excellent educational history can lack all but the most basic general knowledge. Maybe they are starting to suspect that exams are getting easier.

The results will be seized on by critics as further proof A-Levels are getting easier. But schools minister Lord Adonis has rejected suggestions they have been "dumbed down". - Sky News

I am not one of those people. I should really have pointed out quite early on that I did piteously in my own A-levels. The results were disappointing even back in 1995 and would certainly be considered with nothing but distain by today’s standards. Even, two years later, when I sat a night class Sociology A-level, I only just scrapped by. Do I consider myself intelligent? Sometimes. Do I think I’d do better if I were to try again now? Almost certainly. Do I think the courses are easier? No!

Record numbers of sixth-formers won top grades in this year's A-levels, fuelling accusations that the country's 55-year-old "gold standard" school exam is becoming too easy. - Reuters

I believe that the courses have changed (obviously) and it’s become easier to do well in them. There’s a difference between something being easy and something being easy to do well. A subtle difference, but it exists. The modular system allows pupils to re-sit elements they did badly and to pool the things they did well to create a good final result. Less emphasis on a final exam has lowered stress and cram learning (actually a lot harder than most people give credit.) Pupils only have to know their stuff for the duration of the time it takes to do their coursework (or copy it from an online essay if you want to be controversial)

the need for reform of the system is now undeniable. As a tool for educating the population, A-levels are failing... For all the talk of A-levels becoming easier, their narrow academic nature is still deterring too many from remaining in school or college any longer than they have to. - The Independent

Finally, do I think, therefore, that we are worrying about nothing? Absolutely not. We have every reason to worry. The prizes are becoming increasing worthless (There’s only so many stars you can put after an A to increase its value – How happy will we be when we get A***+xl-nitro in our media studies exam?) and A-levels are nowhere near broad enough to provide and assess the skills we will use later in life. Universities find it impossible to distinguish between vast numbers of very different students all presenting their straight A certificates with identical smiles. The time has come for a change (and I say that very cautiously considering the number of changes there are to our education system year after year – all of which teachers are expected to implement and master without a murmur.) Personally I favour a Baccalaureate-esque programme. The 16 year olds at the table next to me think it’d be easier just to move the grades down one. (16 year olds are extremely nosey these days) I told them I’m opposed to that on the grounds that I have what very few people get these days, an E in Chemistry. I feel special.