Exam chief defends A-levels

Ahead of the release of this year's A-level results, the head of a leading exam board has insisted it is not easy to obtain the top grades.

Mike Cresswell, director general of the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance, told ePolitix.com on Monday that the six per cent of pupils who leave school with three grade As or more at A-level represent less than three per cent of 18-year-olds in the country. 

"The evidence speaks for itself," he said. "A-levels are not easy for the client group."

Cresswell acknowledged that there had been an increase in the number of candidates achieving the A grade but insisted that the standard for the award "is a constant".

"The number of students getting it has risen, but that reflects improvements in teaching, improvements in learning and, in my opinion, a more focused and hardworking generation of 18-year-olds," he said.

And he argued that introducing the A* grade would be a "solution to that problem of success" which has made it difficult for universities to distinguish "the very top echelon of students".

He also said standards had not dropped at GCSE level, insisting that performance levels had risen in line with more effective teaching and learning "due to the enormous amount of resources and effort".

Denying claims that pupils are choosing 'softer' subjects, such as media studies over maths or science because the exams are easier, Cresswell said there are "no easy subjects in a general sense".

He added: "There are certainly subjects that each individual finds easier than others, but they are not universal.

"People choose subjects that they find interesting, want to study for two years and therefore be successful in."