A-level grades disparity shows the real value of exams

The number of As and A*s was down markedly on the previous two years, when schools calculated students’ grades. But, notably, top marks were up from 2019, when the results were last based on summer examinations.

There are some commentators, and even educationalists, who advocate doing away with exams altogether, in favour of some kind of continuous assessment by teachers.

The latest set of results, and the staggering disparity with the grades handed out by schools, shows that these ideas are misguided and formal examinations still form an important part of school-age education.

The idea that over half of the candidates should receive As or A*s, as they did in 2021, risks devaluing A-levels to the point of meaninglessness. We know that, even when exams do take place, employers complain that they are an unreliable indicator of job applicants’ abilities.

We are in danger of cheating young people by implying that everyone who sits an exam is entitled to a top grade. Indeed, we may have failed them already, by encouraging the idea that most pupils are suited to an academic course at university, rather than vocational training or learning on the job.

We do not yet fully understand how the government’s response to the Covid pandemic, including cancelling important exams, has affected a generation of young people. It may be that many students who did A-levels in 2020 or 2021 will, quite unjustly, have their results regarded with suspicion.

While everyone is different, the best place for the overwhelming majority of young people to learn is still in school, rather than at home in front of a computer, and the fairest, most reliable way to assess their work is in an examination hall