By: Warwick Mansell

Warwick Mansell — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 08:35:42 +0000

I think the evidence so far is that schools feel very cautious indeed about adopting such a strategy. A teacher from a middle-ranking independent school told me at a conference recently that all but the most academic schools were nervous about going for the Pre-U, for instance, because of worries that their students might find it tricky to achieve good results. I think that caution is understandable: you have to be very confident to go out of your way to seek out challenge in an exam. Also, it is not clear that university admissions tutors are always completely on top of the detail of the different qualifications, so someone getting an A on, for argument’s sake, an “easier” route might not find themselves penalised for this tactic at admission if the tutor was not aware that there were tougher courses. And would someone with a B on a tougher course be favoured over another who got an A on a route which might be seen as easier? I’m not sure.
Of course, there may be trends in other directions. The International Baccalaureate seems to be winning favour among admissions tutors, and in schools, even though it is perceived by many as more stretching (certainly calling for more breadth of study) than A-levels.
However, if the implication of your comment is that market pressures could lead to a rise in the standard of the qualification (ie “dumbing up”), I would say most of the evidence out there suggests market pressures lead to “dumbing down”, or a lowering of standards as institutions and individuals under huge results pressure chase routes which will give them the best chance of good grades.

By: Tom Richmond, Policy Adviser on Education and Skills

Tom Richmond, Policy Adviser on Education and Skills — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 09:34:58 +0000

It would be interesting to see whether some schools intentionally go for harder exams, knowing that a decent grade might be worth more in the eyes of admissions tutors than an A-grade at A-level…

Comments on: One serious apparent flaw in Michael Gove’s A-level plans

By: Warwick Mansell

By: Tom Richmond, Policy Adviser on Education and Skills