Mediocrity rewarded as excellence
It used to be said that a set of British A levels was worth as much as a degree from an American university. One is now forced – despairingly – to question whether it is worth even the paper it is written on.
In modern, uneducated Britain, one is rewarded for mediocrity. Schools, as a result, which have failed to boost children to reach their true educational potentials, are let off the hook. Instead, those responsible should be heavily scrutinised, or second-rate (even third-rate) learning will continue.
A leak reported by the Telegraph (now confirmed as accurate) has revealed that students who have sat A level maths papers by OCR or Edexcel could have answered almost half of the questions incorrectly and still have received an A grade.
(Edit: Peter Hitchens made an important comment on this in his Mail on Sunday column, 18.08.19: ‘And if maths, where it is clear what’s right and wrong, is judged so feebly, imagine what it’s like in the softer subjects.’)
This is nothing new. In 2000, the Engineering Coincil released the results of their ten-year study of university undergraduates beginning courses in maths, science and engineering. These students were all given an identical test. Their study found that, as the entrants’ grades at A level had RISEN, their mathematical understanding had DECLINED. Today’s news shows this trend has continued.
It used to be said that a set of British A levels was worth as much as a degree from an American university. One is now forced – despairingly – to question whether it is worth even the paper it is written on.
The same lazy excuses will be offered in response to lowering educational standards as always; mainly, that cuts under government-imposed austerity have limited the ability of schools to do their jobs. Many schools in poor areas (indeed, even in poor countries) are still able to boost their students to reach their potentials. It is the style of teaching that matters most.
In a thoughtful nation, such occurrences as this lowering of the grade boundaries would lead to outrage, and a thorough investigation of the causes of such educational decline. Among them are the abandonment of traditional teaching methods and ‘rote’ learning in favour of a system which allows students to ‘discover’ skills; the over reliance on technology, such as the calculator in maths and – as highlighted by Melanie Philips in her 1996 book of the same name – the attitude which suggest ‘all must have prizes’.
Alas, this is Britain. Serious scrutiny is rare and – when it does occur – focuses on trivial matters. Unless this changes, students will continue to be failed by our education system, at great cost to the nation.
