Keith Darley
The Limes
Buckland
Herts
14/9/12
Dear Mr Heald ,
Every year I hear about the school examination results and inwardly groan . As you are aware normally it is about the ever increasing number of passes/grades , though this year was the opposite...
Isnt it time that this problem was sorted once and for all ?
Firstly , The reasons for the grades is so other people can assess the test candidate's ability for emplyment/study/other purposes .
Secondly , the system has to be flexible, fair and subject to comparison with older/younger people
Thirdly , the system preferably should be sufficiently robust that it can withstand political interference .
My suggestion is simplicity itself :
The grading system in place is too easy to pass , with employers/Universities stating that they cant differentiate between individuals.
So , to address this [ and other problems with changeovers] , make everyone get a pass mark , ie no fails .
The grading system can then be as follows :
Lets say Joe BLoggs came in the top 60% of marks . Give him a pass of 60, probabaly with a letter before so P60 grade . Others can be graded similarily .
Obviously there can be 100 pass grades , but thats possibly too sensitive [ but easily done] so maybe 70, 60 50, 45, 40 ...... 90, 92, 94 .... or whatever .
These are now independent of the exam as they are purely comparative and as such can compare individuals who have taken different exams . They cannot be bodged/adjusted to a government's whim.
Two problems would need sorting . Firstly course work is down to a school and is open to interpretation locally . If course work were still deemed to be required , maybe have a grade of A,B,c,d,e for the school coursework and then the national % , so a pass of B55 would cater for that .
Secondly courses without exams may have to have 2 letters to show that an exam wasnt used to assess that persons' grades so maybe a grade of BB without a number .
Summary :
Make marking of exams fair and transparent , allowing comparison between different ages easy for prospective employers , in a system that is unlikely to be corrupted by future politicians and is seen to be totally fair by all members of the public
Do you think this would work ?
Yours sincerely
Keith Darley
