LETTER:A-levels: unequal grading or falling standards?
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.From Mr Randhir Singh Bains
Sir: Sir Rhodes Boyson rightly questions (Another View: "Can A-levels really be better?", 18 August) the academic standards of present-day A- levels. As a mathematics lecturer, I am inclined to agree with Sir Rhodes and would like to add that A-level standards, especially in mathematics and physics, have consistently been on a downward spiral since the mid- Eighties.
Decline in academic standards, in my view, started with the abolition of O-level and its replacement by the GCSE. The GCSE syllabi, especially in mathematics and physics, are too open-ended and place little or no emphasis on developing a manipulative skill, which is extremely important for making any progress in A-level mathematics. The introduction of the GCSE thus increased the gap between the former O- and A-levels, thereby making the learning experiences of students equipped with GCSEs extremely unpleasant and frustrating.
To make the transition to the A-level course easier, Examination Boards could have followed only one of the two options: lower the A-level standard and make it academically more accessible to students with GCSE qualifications, or increase the length of the A-level course from two to three years. The latter option would have been very expensive and unpopular with students and parents. Examination Boards, therefore, took the easy way out and decided to water down A-level standards. The A-level mathematics syllabus introduced last year, which is a glorified version of the erstwhile O- level, is a testimony to this downward slide.
Yours faithfully,
Randhir Singh Bains
Gants Hill, Essex
19 August
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments