A-level results

The A-level pass rate has risen for the 24th year in a row.

The pass rate increased by 0.4 per cent, while the number of exam entries awarded an A grade rose more sharply - from 22.8 per cent to 24.1 per cent.

The continued rise in the A-level pass rate has led business leaders to call for reform of the system.


Stakeholder Response: NASUWT

Chris Keates, general secretary of NASUWT, said: "NASUWT predicted that standards of attainment would increase this year building on the significant year-on-year improvements in A-level results.

"Once again pupils and teachers have come up trumps and should be congratulated for their hard work in securing these excellent achievements.

"Today it is only right to celebrate and challenge those who might seek to undermine this success."


Stakeholder Response: ATL

ATL general secretary Dr Mary Bousted said: "The yearly battle over A-levels is futile, irrelevant and boring.

"Young people are to be congratulated on achieving these excellent results, gained through their hard work, and supported by the skills of their teachers.  

"Those who hark back to the past, who see A-level failures as a mark of rigour, should recognise that things change. Just as driving a Ford Cortina is no longer an aspiration, we should not expect students in the 21st century to follow a 1950s curriculum and exam system."

"We believe there should be changes to the A-level system. At present, Britain is the poor man of Europe when it comes to the education of the over 16s – too many young people leave school and don’t ever return to full or part-time study. Too few take A-levels. This is a criminal waste of talent and potential expertise. 

"There needs to be a fundamental revision of the post-16 curriculum and an end to the divide between academic and vocational subjects. 

 

"Employers want young people who can think laterally, are good at team work and have a strong knowledge of current affairs. We need to do more to prepare young people for a fast changing world – and we cannot do so if we constantly hark back to a golden past, and a gold standard, which never existed."


StakeholderResponse: Exam Officers Association

Andrew Harland, chief executive of the Exam Officers Association, told ePolitix.com: "The focus seemed to be on an increase in entries, not only in certain subjects at AS-and A2-level but at AEA-level.

"More entries therefore imply a great workload for exam officers across the country and the EOA will continue to lobby for more resources and support for their members to meet these ever increasing demands on exam offices in centres."
 

Stakeholder Response: The Association of School and College Leaders

General secretary Dr John Dunford said: "Students and teachers should be warmly congratulated for the hard work and effort that has gone in to achieving today’s results. The increase in grade As is a testament to the increasing success of students and teachers.

 

"However, it is not a justification for introducing an A* grade. These will devalue grades A and B, and increase stress and anxiety among bright 17 and 18 year-olds, as happened when GCSE A* grades were introduced."

"With access to module grades and marks, and the new extended project, universities will have more than enough information to discriminate between the best candidates. A* grades are a solution to a problem that can be solved by other means."

"The increased take-up and improved results in mathematics is welcome news and are certainly not a result of dumbing-down. Schools and colleges have worked hard to change the perception that mathematics is 'too hard' and more students have been encouraged to take the subject.

 

The result is that more students are realising that they can do well in mathematics and are staying the course."


Stakeholder Response: Institute of Directors

Miles Templeman, director general of the Institute of Directors, said: "We need to move the debate on from whether A-level standards have declined or not. The best way to do this is to encourage a market and competition in post-16 qualifications.

"By 2008 there will be a choice between specialised diplomas and A-levels. We should develop this market in qualifications by encouraging more schools to offer the international baccalaureate and we should welcome proposals to develop new post-16 qualifications such as the 'Pre-U'."

Templeman added: "Competition in qualifications will provide more choice for pupils, schools, colleges, universities and employers. However the fact remains that ultimately IoD members are more concerned about low levels in literacy, numeracy and basic skills, rather than the debate about dumbing-down A-levels."

 

Stakeholder Response: AQA

 

Dr Mike Cresswell, Director General of the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA) comments: "The rise in the A-level pass rate and number of candidates getting Grade A is an indication of the success of our young people and the schools and colleges which they attend. 

 

"Over the last 10 years, the increase at Grade A represents just 1 or 2 more students getting a Grade A in each subject at the average school or college. 

 

"This improvement is a tribute to teachers and students and is surely no more than we would hope for in the performance of schools and colleges over a 10 year period.

"For most selection purposes A-level examinations continue to be just as useful as they ever were. 

"However, there is a problem for selectors in some university faculties who are sometimes faced with more candidates with straight Grade As than they can accommodate. 

"There is much additional information available to universities to help them choose the best candidates for their courses including from next year, if a pilot this year is successful, the grades the candidates get in each unit of their examinations in addition to their overall grades.

"The provision of an A* grade would also help.  There are a number of possible ways of awarding an A* and they all have different technical consequences which need to be worked through. 

"Our research in this area so far suggests that one way would be simply to add a star to candidates’ Grade As if they score over 90% in their A-level examination.  Across all subjects, this would give A* to approximately the top 7% of A-level candidates.

"But, however it is done, we need to be clear that the introduction of an A* grade would be in response to a limited selection problem caused by the increasing success of our young people. 

"The A-level Grade A standard is, and will remain, an exceptional achievement for anyone."