A downward scale
From Dr David Whittle Sir: David Miliband (Letters, 11 September), without giving details, claims 'independent evidence. . shows that standards have been maintained' in A-levels. He may be unaware that before 2002 the performing level for those taking Music was equivalent to Grade 8 of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. Since 2002 it has been Grade 6. Can he explain how this maintains standards?
David Whittle
Oakham, Rutland
From R.0 Solomon Sir: I am, by trade, a writer of Maths textbooks. Part of the job involves solving recent exam questions. For my first A-level book, written in 1987, these questions would often take up to 20 minutes and require thought (those set by the Oxford local board and the Southern Universities board, both now defunct, were particularly tricky). Now no question takes longer than five minutes nor is it other than routine. It is unlikely that 17 years of self-indulgence have increased my intelligence A-level questions have got easier. Mr Miliband finds it hard to see how a candidate ignorant of fractions could pass GCSE with grade C. He should look more carefully at the exam: for 60 per cent of it the candidates can use a scientific calculator with a button which does all the fractional calculations that are required. As for the remaining 40 per cent, in the non-calculator paper of the latest exam from one of the main boards fractional calculations account for only seven out of the 100 marks. So a candidate could obtain 97 per cent in the whole exam without knowing any more of fractions than how to press the correct buttons.
The Minister for School Standards must defend them stoutly. But in this subject at least, there is no doubt that they have fallen. R.C. Solomon
London NW3
Previous page
