A level results are out today and the only question that goes begging is just how stupid to you have to be to actually fail?
98.1% of exams taken were passed. 25.5% of exams taken resulted in a grade of A or A*. 75% of those papers sat by boys were scored A* to C. For girl papers that number was 79.7%. Well done hard working girls. Well done hard working boys. Well done the grossly overpaid teachers. Well done everyone.
Three percentage points more kids have automatically qualified to go to often pointless universities to do often pointless courses ahead of a career as a shelf stacker. But again we are not allowed to say that as it insults those hard working kids and teachers. Whatever you say do not use the words "grade inflation".
For what it is worth ,in 2015 the pupil teacher ratio in UK secondary schools was just over 15, in 2000 it was just over 16, in the early eighties it was almost 17 and in 1945 it was 22. It is amazing how the teachers demand ever more money for teaching fewer and fewer kids - this is a sector where pay raises cannot be justified by efficiency gains so must be justified by results, that is to say almost everyone passing exams.
Back in 2000 the A Level pass rate was 89.6% and that was after 20 consecutive years of pass rate increase. Back in my day ( the early 1980s) the pass rate was 68%. Is this because the kids learn more or are brighter? No. My father, a former A Level Examiner puts it this way "they are lowering the bar, they are misguided."
My father is wrong. The education establishment has to justify inflation beating pay rises for a profession with the shortest working year going. Since the teachers teach fewer pupils, i.e. are less efficient, they can justify this only by pretending they are generating ever better results. Does anyone really believe that kids today are 44% better educated ( 98.1 minus 68 with the result divided by 68 - a result achieved without the use of a calculator) than those of 30 years ago? Of course not.
Sorry kids, parents and the taxpayer, the teachers are lying to you all.