Is the A-level shake-up necessary?

With the A-level results recently released this summer and many students scrambling for university places, once again the percentage of top grades has gone up. However, with Ministers and many other people in Britain complaining that this is a result of easy A-levels the question has to be asked if A-levels are truly getting easier or if students are just working harder? With this question in mind is an A-level shake-up necessary?

One possibility of the shake-up is the new A* and even A** grade which will be looked at by the former schools chief inspector Mike Tomlinson. Another possibility is to make A-levels similar to the final exams found in Europe, the International Baccalaureate where students are required to study the 'core' subjects e.g. maths and science. There is also the possibility of making exams more analytical and more like dissertations, but once again the questions have to be asked will any of these reforms make A-levels any better? Will universities be able to distinguish better between candidates?

Over the last decade A-level results have been getting increasingly better by the year. Will a shake-up prove that students are working harder or will results slump? I for one think that results are getting better because people want to get into their choice of university to have better job prospects, more opportunities and possibly leave their options open for longer. Ministers are too quick to say exams are too easy and rarely give praise to those who have just merely worked harder to aim for what they want to achieve.

By Kelly Johnson