A'level results day.

[Netraider]

Just received the phonecall from my daughter - 1 A*, 1A and 2Bs. Waiting to find out if she is accepted. UCAS a bit overwhelmed at the moment.

[TimberWolf]

That's precisely what I'm hoping for.

Research at Durham University has found that a candidate who would have got a C two decades ago would get an A now.
A-level results 2010: A-level pass rate rises to 97.6% | Education | guardian.co.uk

And [far] less people as a proportion of the population took A levels back then, so add a couple of stars to that A.

[Mich the Tester]

And [far] less people as a proportion of the population took A levels back then, so add a couple of stars to that A.

cheers!

I'll modestly add just one star!

[TimberWolf]

cheers!

I'll modestly add just one star!

What happened to you on exam day? I would be surprised if someone like you couldn't cram an A level syllabus into a month or two and walk out of an exam with a top grade, today.

[MarillionFan]

I've just heard that Suityou got an A* in Drama.

[Doggy Styles]

The problem with 10% of each year getting A's etc. is that you can't compare one year's intake with the next. For the same work, in one year you get a C, in another a B or a D.

That was the case yes, however it will actually hide talent. A bright student who happens to be in a year group with an unusually large number of other bright students will find themselves struggling to get the top grade when if they were born a few months earlier/later they could have achieved it.
Similarly if an exam paper is found to be much easier than anticipated a student who had expected to be in the top 10% could suffer when suddenly even 95% isn't enough for an A
By setting the grades to match actual score attained it levels the playing field, however it does introduce the other issue of exam boards having to set exam papers in a consistent manner.

The opposite is true, you can compare students across years very accurately under the "percentile" system.

If you are the 10,000th best in the country at maths, you'd get the same mark year after year regardless of how easy or hard the exams are in any particular year.

A whole population is not going to vary in ability much, year on year, but exams can vary wildly (deliberately or otherwise!).

So if this system had always applied and you get a B, you know exactly where you stand among those who took maths in any era.

And if universities and employers think an exam isn't rigorous enough, exam boards can just make it harder next year - and it will make no difference to your grade.

[AtW]

This would have never happened in Soviet Union.

[MarillionFan]

This would have never happened in Soviet Union.

Exactly. Everyone got a D-

[Spacecadet]

Exactly. Everyone got a D-

as long as there were any results left after they had queued for 8 hours at the a-level results office

[Gonzo]

Which makes it statistically, erm, a bit more unlikely to have 28 consecutive years of brighter people.

It is possible for the standard of teaching to improve year on year which is obviously the explanation for the improving results.