I have finally completed my a levels in maths, further maths, product design and physics after 2 years. This was not 2 years of studying, maybe about 4 months (the rest was just procrastination). Having taken 11 GCSEs, picking just 4 was quite hard. As well as these 4, I also wanted to study a more broad range of subjects, like computing, spanish and chemistry. Despite this, A levels meant I could stick to what I was good at, making time for extracurricular activities (far more so than IB students). Some argue for more subjects like the IB and AP systems, I think that GCSEs give us a general foundation. After all this, I was given a spot at imperial college london (but could have gone to many institutions across the world).
I was awarded A* in all of my subjects, as my teachers had predicted the year prior. However, teachers largely overpredicted (rather than predicting too low). This means that many people did not reach their predicted grade, so for too many people were predicted all A*. These high predictions are not realised in the actual offers they receive. This meant that top students and mediocre students were given the same predictions; some of the smartest people I know have been therefore overlooked.I was pleased with my result, but grade inflation meant that I wasn’t actually surprised.
The university system in the UK is fairly stupid. It involves getting so-called predicted grades at the end of your first year of secondary school. These are sent with a statement and a reference to 5 institutions to UCAS. You write a common statement to summarise yourself, and it will determine your future for the next 3-7 years. The reference comes from your school, and is again sent to all institutions. You choose a course at each university (which should be similar in scope so your statement can be relevant). Along with interviews and tests, the universities give you 3-4 grades you need to achieve to study there. Finally you pick a firm (top choice) and insurance (backup), forfeiting all others. If you meet the firm, you go there. Otherwise, you go to the insurance (if you meet its grades). Otherwise, there’s always next year.
Each subject studied has a combination of exams and non-exam-assessments. The exams will naturally vary in difficulty on an annual basis. As a result of changing difficulty, the marks required to get various grades will also vary. This is not known before the exams are taken, so students do not know how many marks to aim for. As a result, various strategies can be thrown off; some people aim to get 70% of marks with the NEA, but a swing can mean they get too few for their required grade. This year had one of the most punishing sets of boundaries to date, which has caused massive discontent and anger. Sometimes, optional / modular components are not separated when determining boundaries. This may also be unfair: if the statistics exam is the easiest ever, but you took mechanics, your grade may not reflect your ability.
Every year, the percentage of top grades seems to go up. This is not because students are more and more intelligent, but rather because of so-called grade inflation. The only recent year with falling grades was after COVID-adgustments to grading were removed. This squeezes previously mediocre students into top grades, impeding university admission effectiveness. Since boundaries are also being pushed up, this means we have to focus increasingly on exam technique and not subject knowledge. This can be seen with an A* requiring over 80% in some subjects, compares to below 70 in previous years. Grade inflation is even more prevalent in predicted grades. This leads to more exams needed, such as the UCL STAT, which were not previously needed.
A levels are administered by multiple organisations, both charities and for-profits. This has the benefit of market competition, which brings greater choice to educators. This means if there is a section which teachers do not agree with or dislike, they will not have to teach it. Similarly, for NEAs, it can be chosen based on school resources. Whilst none are better or worse than others (in theory)
There have been proposed alternatives, such as the advanced British standard. These have been acknowledged as very difficult to create exam boards for. This would remove a key part of the British education system. Single-board offerings (like T-levels and the AP) have faced significant problems. This means that subject independence is a good thing. However, it is very clear that the system needs lower boundaries and fewer top grades. This means that I would not like a new system, just a reform, perhaps creating an A** grade. I see no reason for an overhaul, as the A level has huge brand value as well as being one of the most effective systems in the world.
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