The A level enigma

It’s that time of year again:   The days are hot and more or less sunny; the jingle of an ice cream van rises on the wind and a familiar question sweeps the broadsheets of our fair land.  Are A levels getting easier?

When the results come in on Thursday morning certain cynics will roll their eyes at yet another record breaking year.  Even as an impartial outside observer, it can be difficult not to see some truth in the accusations.   How can each successive year out-do the previous one if it isn’t something to do with the exam?   Surely the chemicals in the water can’t be that effective. 

So what is going on?

The UK’s three major exam boards, AQA, Edexcel and OCR, which set the A level papers are in turn moderated by Ofqual, the government’s Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation.   Ofqual states that the levels of questions is roughly even between all three boards and roughly equivalent to the exams of previous years.   Chief Executive Isabel Nisbet says “Whatever grades candidates achieve, they can be confident that they have not been unfairly disadvantaged, or advantaged, because they took their exam with one board and not another.”   It seems that the A levels themselves aren’t getting any easier.  So where does the negative press come from?

Andrew Gilligan’s article in the Telegraph this weekend delved deeper.   Edexcel, now owned by the giant publisher Pearson, runs seminars in some subjects for teachers and students designed to show how to ‘structure’ the ‘perfect’ answer and ‘meet the requirements [of] the generic mark scheme’ - all for a not so small fee.  The problem, it seems, is not that the exams are getting easier, but that schools and pupils are simply being given the answers; that once elusive A grade is fast becoming the norm.  A win-win situation for schools and exam boards perhaps, but those who are really losing out are the brightest students, who find it harder and harder to stand out academically and win their place at the best Universities, such as Oxford and Cambridge.

If this is the case, could there be an easy remedy?   The government could send their meanest looking suits over to Edexcel HQ and tell them to up their game – or else! They could then pop round to give Ofqual a clip round the ear for missing the problem and be home in time for tea.  But although it is frustrating for students, who work hard for two years only for it to be implied that they were spoon fed the answers, it isn’t as simple as that.   Instead each successive Schools’ Minister imposes a new set of changes on the A level system.  First they introduced AS levels, then modules and coursework, all of which have been criticized for lowering the standard. A more recent change is the A* grade at A level, an introduction that brings me out in a cold sweat when I think about my own results.  The A* was introduced to distinguish the top students from the hordes who get straight As, but even here there is a disagreement between the top institutions:  Cambridge requires it, whilst Oxford ignores it.   Now Michael Gove, the current Minister for Schools is planning another shake up: getting rid of AS levels all together.  These changes along with the periodic threat of IB invasion is enough to make even the best teacher’s head spin and again it seems it’s the brightest students who are losing out. Whilst the government may have big plans for the future, A level students are, for the moment at least, stuck with the current system and all its problems.  

So what can you do?  If you’re thinking about applying to Oxbridge, your will already be armed with an impressive academic record.  But how can you ensure that your clutch of As and A*s stand out from the rest and you make the strongest application you can? 

Do your research on the course you are applying for to make sure it is really what you want to do, read around your subject to find out what really interests you and make sure your personal statement is as good as it can be by checking out our useful guide to writing your personal statement.  Admissions tests have become an important part of the Oxbridge admissions process in recent years so make sure you know what will be required of you by looking at our handy test guides.   Above all, be confident in yourself that you can succeed.

Best of luck for your A level and AS level results on Thursday!   And if any one gives you any stick, just pat them kindly on the arm and tell them that this year’s record breaking A levels are just further proof of Darwin’s Theory of Evolution!