The A grade – once a very real currency – has been devalued. In my distant youth, an A grade at A-level was a rare beast, most often seen in maths and science subjects. It seemed to me even then that maths and science A-levels tested what you knew, whereas subjects like English lit and… Read More: Making the grade »
Schools offer something more important than lessons and grades
Some conversations, for better or worse, you never forget. Maybe it was a shock at the time and the recall is vivid – true in this case. Maybe new and surprising developments raise the ghost. And yes, that is also true. I recall from a very distant past talking to two young women my own… Read More: Exam boards: ‘Now, more than ever, every decision is worth… »
Edexcel has announced it will upload all of its marked A-level exam scripts; are we about to see A grades rise even further? OK, so first you have to know that I am writing this on A-level results day, and whatever I intended to write has just been trumped by the newspapers reporting, not the… Read More: Be careful what you wish for »
I mean really, what do you know? And how did you find it out? Were you taught it? And if so, were you taught it by teachers, by mates, by parents or by the hard knocks of the School of Life? Or – even – by the telly? Go on, admit it, you can learn… Read More: Well, what do you know? »
In 1998, I helped to ignite a debate about marking standards in examinations – a debate that has never really gone away.
I began examining – English Lang and Lit – in the early days of what became 10 years out of the classroom, raising a family. I was able to mark when babies slept, and 300 or 400 scripts were actually easier to squeeze into three weeks then than they were when I was back in… Read More: Exams – are we too open with teachers? »