By Matthew Barrett
Follow Matthew on Twitter.
The media coverage of today's A-level exam results has focused on two statistics. Firstly, that the overall pass mark increased to 97.8%, and secondly, that the number of students awarded top marks dropped for the first time in twenty years (good).
The crackdown on grade inflation, which produced the second statistic, is yet another of Michael Gove's ideas to get the education system working honestly once again. It's no good awarding top marks if the level of real knowledge being gained is decreasing.
The unions' response to the results have been extremely sour. Chris Keates, General Secretary of the NASUWT union, said:
"The Coalition Government can take no credit for these results which is why it takes every opportunity to imply the system is ‘dumbed down’ or lacks rigour. These results have been achieved by teachers who, despite pay cuts, attacks on their working conditions, slashed funding, loss of specialist support and attacks on their professional status and competence, have worked hard to do the best they can for their pupils."
The NUT echoed this, saying:
"These results are a real testament to the commitment and hard work of young people and their teachers. The Government should recognise this rather than continually undermining such achievement with talk of grade inflation and dumbed down qualifications."