It seems like the concern over “easy” A levels does not appear to go away. I am sure that students are working hard towards their exams but with a pass rate of 98% I wonder how meaningful these results are. What does it really mean to get four A grades if a significant number of others have also got the same? How do we distinguish between those getting such high results? I wonder how many of us would be happy to hop on a plane if we knew that 98% of airline pilots pass their exams. How many people pass the driving test first time?

I suppose my question is – To what extent do we need to measure ability, and if at all, how should this be done?