Are A levels and GCSEs getting easier

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Are A levels and GCSEs getting easier?

• Dr Robert Coe
• Wellington College27 June 2006

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Standards and comparability

• Grades in two examinations have the same standard
  if they
• Represent equal achievement
• Represent achievement of equal value
• Represent achievement of equal difficulty
  (intellectual demand)
• Are equally likely to be achieved
• Indicate equal levels of ability

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Achievement at GCSE
4
Achievement at A level
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Yellis

• Year 11 information system
• Began in 1994
• Baseline test of developed ability in Y10
• Value-added to GCSE
• 1200 schools
• www.yellisproject.org

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Alis

• A level information system
• Began in 1983
• Baseline is GCSE or Test of Developed Ability
  (TDA)
• Value-added to A/AS level ( others)
• 1400 schools and colleges
• www.alisproject.org

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GCSEs achieved by comparable students
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A levels achieved by comparable students
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Change over different times
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Possible Explanations

• Teaching and learning have improved
• Examination performance has improved
• The same levels of knowledge and understanding
  are easier to demonstrate
• Demographic changes have facilitated better
  performance
• The reference tests used in this comparison are
  inappropriate
• The Alis and Yellis samples have changed
• Public examinations have changed too much to make
  valid comparisons possible
• The same grade represents a lower level of ability

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Some subjects are easier than others
GCSEs
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Growth of easier subjects (A level)
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Summary

• Raw achievement has increased dramatically since
  the late 1980s
• At GCSE, students of comparable ability achieved
  about half a grade higher in 2005 than in 1996
• At A level, the performance of students of
  comparable ability has increased by an average of
  1.3 grades since 1995 in maths it has increased
  by 3.2 grades since 1988
• As well as individual subjects getting easier,
  there has been a move towards the easier
  subjects
• If grades are interpreted as indicating general
  academic ability, then they are worth less

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Implications

• Comparisons over time are problematic and should
  be treated cautiously
• Teachers and students have worked hard and we
  should not devalue their achievements
• Getting easier may not be a bad thing for the
  majority
• For some groups (elite universities, very able
  students), A levels are no longer fit for purpose

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Some questions

• How do we challenge the most able students,
  without disadvantaging them?
• How can selectors discriminate at the top end?
• How do we keep A levels accessible for the
  majority?
• How can we reduce the incentives to take easier
  subjects?

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Possible solution?

• Stop pretending that all subjects are equally
  hard
• Encourage diversity of syllabuses
• Allow exam boards to award grades using judgement
  and expertise, underpinned by statistical
  analysis
• Calculate UCAS points and league tables using
  difficulty corrected points
• Better still, abandon league tables altogether

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Dr Robert CoeDirector of Secondary
ProjectsCurriculum, Evaluation and Management
(CEM) CentreUniversity of DurhamMountjoy
Research Centre 4Stockton RoadDurham DH1
3UZTel 0191 334 4184 Fax [phone]
4180Email r.j.coe_at_dur.ac.ukwww.cemcentre.org