Y Safle

The percentage of A grades at ‘A’ level rose sharply again last year as the number of candidates hit an all time high. The most stunning rise was in the percentage of top grades at A level mathematics, reaching an amazing 43.5% as the new “more accessible” syllabus settles in. Not surprisingly many are suggesting this is just dumbed down.

To be fair, Mathematics was a hard ‘A’ level, and there is an obvious danger that if an ‘A’ level is too hard, that people will opt for easier subjects. But the pendulum may swing the other way, when we are approaching the point where half of all entrants for the exam get the top grade!

I have updated the graphs I have created over the past weeks with the results announced today. This first graph shows the ever increasing pass rate plotted against the number of candidates. We see here that the argument that those who do badly at AS level are not taking the A2 exam is getting more and more tired, as the number of candidates taking A2 reach a new high.

But this next graph, updated for 2006 shows the most alarming trend. More people are getting grade A than any other grade, and the histogram of grades which was more or less normall distributed in 1992 now looks as if it is anything but a normal distribution, as results are so strongly biased to the top grades that anything below grade C is now largely irrelevant.

So finally, my grade comparison chart, updated for 2006. Remember that grade boundaries prior to 1992 are estimated, and so use this graph with caution. But look up the year that you took your ‘A’ levels and you can now “convert” them to 2006 rates.