Exam standards

Results are better this year, as they have been for a number of years. The pass rate increases and the conclusion many come to is that the A-level examination standard is getting easier to reach.

That is not necessarily a bad thing, and is entirely different from the suggestion that the standard is being lowered. We should surely expect results to improve. Children should be inherently brighter, teaching standards should rise. That combination will inevitably mean schools should get better at putting pupils through the examination system.

The debate ought to move on to how to give the very brightest pupils the opportunity to stretch themselves further. As we report today, more and more pupils are returning three, four and five grade A* performances.

That surely suggests that the A-level examination standard should be lifted across the board and more pupils be given the opportunity to take the higher level examination now available. That, in turn, will make it easier for the best universities (from where a great deal of the criticism about standards emanates) to select the very ablest pupils.

Criticising teachers and the examination system because more pupils succeed is illogical. Congratulations are in order to all those who did well. Commiserations to those who did not. Perhaps A-levels were tougher than they expected.