3 ms·

Worth noting that it was around 9% from 1964-1984, and has been pretty steadily climbing since then (with a levelling off at around 25% in 2010). https://www.a

Worth noting that it was around 9% from 1964-1984, and has been pretty steadily climbing since then (with a levelling off at around 25% in 2010). https://www.alansmithers.com/reports/AL2014.pdf https://www.alansmithers.com/reports/AL2014.pdf

jstx1 5y ago
Maybe it has grown steadily since the 80s but the latest spike is related to the pandemic. Have a look at the chart in the article - there's a huge increase from 2019 to 2020. > The sharp rise in top grades at A-level means that the proportion getting top A* and A grades has risen by almost 75% since the last time conventional exams were taken in 2019.
the_cramer 5y ago
It seems to me that the article is suggesting that the last 2 years were exceptionally different. What I'm wondering is what the factors truly are here and what to do with this data. In my opinion these grades are there to differentiate the skill levels of the people, "short-term-memory" being the major skill here (another topic for another day). But if nearly half of the people are the same elite... this system of skill-measuring is getting useless. Maybe there should be a better alternative?
- rjh29 5y ago
  Exams were cancelled this year and grades were estimated based on students' classroom performance. So your argument doesn't really hold up in this case.
  - the_cramer 5y ago
    That's even worse. Estimated, highly subjective performance grading that decides over a possible future for a student? Not a fan.
- whimsicalism 5y ago
  Maybe I'm a bit of a test stan, but I don't think short term memory is the major thing they test.
- jjgreen 5y ago
  But there will be so many new doctors! Grade deflation is pretty-much impossible in the UK due to pushy parents; I've heard talk on the news of changing the grades from alphabetic to numeric ...
  - fckthisguy 5y ago
    This! As long as parents push students by comparing their grades to other (previous year) grades, we can't reverse course. We should swap to a numeric system but shouldn't just swap an "A" for a "1"; we should show grades as percentiles. Being in the highest 10%/5% is a more meaningful comparison than saying "A" if the meaning of "A" changes over time.
  - CJefferson 5y ago
    There will be no extra doctors. Places on medical programs are strictly limited. Students in the UK don't automatically get in once they make the required grades, they still need to be offered a place.
    - jjgreen 5y ago
      Actually there will: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2021/aug/05/grade-inflation-forces-ministers-pay-extra-medical-school-places-england https://www.theguardian.com/education/2021/aug/05/grade-infl... That they are in the top 45% of students might concern some ...
      - CJefferson 5y ago
        You are right, although it is only another 250 on top of an existing 8,750.
- fckthisguy 5y ago
  Unfortunately, introducing new grading schemes is a slow and arduous process, since the current grades are used to determine entry requirements for Colleges and Universities.

jstx1 5y ago

Maybe it has grown steadily since the 80s but the latest spike is related to the pandemic. Have a look at the chart in the article - there's a huge increase from 2019 to 2020. > The sharp rise in top grades at A-level means that the proportion getting top A* and A grades has risen by almost 75% since the last time conventional exams were taken in 2019.

the_cramer 5y ago

It seems to me that the article is suggesting that the last 2 years were exceptionally different. What I'm wondering is what the factors truly are here and what to do with this data. In my opinion these grades are there to differentiate the skill levels of the people, "short-term-memory" being the major skill here (another topic for another day). But if nearly half of the people are the same elite... this system of skill-measuring is getting useless. Maybe there should be a better alternative?

rjh29 5y ago
Exams were cancelled this year and grades were estimated based on students' classroom performance. So your argument doesn't really hold up in this case.
- the_cramer 5y ago
  That's even worse. Estimated, highly subjective performance grading that decides over a possible future for a student? Not a fan.
whimsicalism 5y ago
Maybe I'm a bit of a test stan, but I don't think short term memory is the major thing they test.
jjgreen 5y ago
But there will be so many new doctors! Grade deflation is pretty-much impossible in the UK due to pushy parents; I've heard talk on the news of changing the grades from alphabetic to numeric ...
- fckthisguy 5y ago
  This! As long as parents push students by comparing their grades to other (previous year) grades, we can't reverse course. We should swap to a numeric system but shouldn't just swap an "A" for a "1"; we should show grades as percentiles. Being in the highest 10%/5% is a more meaningful comparison than saying "A" if the meaning of "A" changes over time.
- CJefferson 5y ago
  There will be no extra doctors. Places on medical programs are strictly limited. Students in the UK don't automatically get in once they make the required grades, they still need to be offered a place.
  - jjgreen 5y ago
    Actually there will: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2021/aug/05/grade-inflation-forces-ministers-pay-extra-medical-school-places-england https://www.theguardian.com/education/2021/aug/05/grade-infl... That they are in the top 45% of students might concern some ...
    - CJefferson 5y ago
      You are right, although it is only another 250 on top of an existing 8,750.
fckthisguy 5y ago
Unfortunately, introducing new grading schemes is a slow and arduous process, since the current grades are used to determine entry requirements for Colleges and Universities.