Exams not dumbed down, say heads

Heads have rejected claims that exams are easier

A-levels and GCSEs are not getting easier, says a head teachers' union leader.

David Hart, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said it was "irresponsible" to say that exams were being dumbed down at a time when so many young people were anxiously awaiting their results.

Carol Fitz-Gibbon, a professor at Durham University, had been reported as claiming that examiners were now marking papers less strictly and that it was easier to score higher grades.

David Hart has attacked the "denigration" of pupils' achievements

But Mr Hart attacked the timing of such claims and the "depressing" tendency to downplay the achievements of young people.

"In effect, these people are telling pupils who are going to get good grades in a few weeks that their results aren't worth the paper they're written on.

"I take these allegations with a pinch of salt and would prefer to accept the evidence of the government's exam body and the examination boards.

"We have a tendency to denigrate the efforts of pupils and teachers in this country and that is both depressing and reprehensible.

"The claims are also very irresponsible, coming only a fortnight before the A-level results and three weeks before the GCSE results are due."

Professor Fitz-Gibbon is set to publish research into the testing of 11 year olds and marking for A-levels and GCSEs - and newspaper reports have suggested that this will show that it is getting easier to gain higher grades, particularly for subjects such as maths.

The research carried out independent tests on pupils' ability and then considered how these corresponded with current exam scores and those from past years.

The suggestion that grades might not be deserved was also criticised by the head of the National Confederation of Parent Teacher Associations, Margaret Morrissey, who expressed her concern for the stressed-out youngsters anticipating their results.

"It seems terribly unfair on students that, having spent weeks talking about the stress on youngsters, it's then suggested their exams are easier," she said.