Missing the mark

THE Mail congratulates all those pupils who worked hard for their GCSEs. As they wrestle with a new grading system from 9 (the top grade) to 1 (the bottom), we also hope they were able to understand them.

These exams, brought in following years of rampant grade inflation under Labour, were supposed to set a new ‘gold standard’ of increased rigour.

But as with last week’s A-level results, boundaries were deliberately shifted so this year’s cohort were not, in the words of Education Secretary Damian Hinds ‘at a disadvantage’ compared to previous years.

As a result, achieving a 4 in maths – the equivalent of an old C grade – required a mark of just 20 per cent and pass rates have actually gone up!

So what was the point of the reforms in the first place?