Who really believes standards are rising?

Who really believes standards are rising?

Daily Mail Comment
25th August 2006

As predictable as Stalin's annual boasts of record grain harvests in his famine-stricken Soviet Union comes another record-breaking set of GCSE results.

Now let us say one thing loud and clear: thousands of bright teenagers studied hard for their exams this year, and richly deserve the top grades they scored. The Mail congratulates them heartily.

Many would have scored top grades 30 years ago and nothing is more irritating for them than to be told by cynical adults: 'Ah, yes, but exams are so much easier now than they were then.'

But is there really anyone left who seriously believes standards have been rising relentlessly under this Government?

Or that all 19 per cent who achieved As and A*s yesterday would have performed equally well in the days before 'modules' and subjects such as media studies? Or that fewer than two per cent of candidates deserved to be marked as failures?

Employers don't believe it. They complain they have to give remedial lessons in the most basic English and maths to school-leavers - even to some who have strings of good GCSE grades.

Only yesterday, it emerged that no fewer than four in 10 primary school leavers are failing to master the three Rs.

Now that is a national scandal. And how convenient that these figures were released on a day when attention was focused on the GCSE 'triumph'.

Yet Ministers go on mouthing their lies about ever-rising standards. Meanwhile, they drop the requirement that pupils should study modern languages - not because there is no longer any need for them in this multilingual world, mind, but because such tough subjects make it difficult to massage the statistics.

New Labour, elected on a promise that education would be its top three priorities, has betrayed an entire generation. It has betrayed high achievers, by failing to stretch them or allow them to show their true worth. It has betrayed slow learners, by failing to equip them with the basic skills they need to get by in life.

And hasn't it also betrayed our country, by failing to produce the educated workforce on which our future depends?

Daily Mail...Readers reaction...

Here's what readers have had to say so far.

Here we go, the annual 'things were better in my day' festival. What is wrong with this country where we can't acknowledge the results these kids get.
I often read on these pages how kids are disinterested, anti social - and do you blame them? Even when they put the effort in, stay at school, study hard and get the results they are swamped with accusations that it was easy and their results are worthless. They are damned if they do and damned if they don't.
Like all education systems ours can be improved but we can at least congratulate and encourage these students of today who make the effort.

- Graeme, Edinburgh

The main problem facing would-be employers of these school leavers is, how on earth do you differentiate between them if they ALL get top marks. Surely the purpose of exams is to discriminate between those that can, those that might and those that haven't a cat in hell's chance. Oh dear, discriminate? That's not allowed, is it?

- Mike Randall, Worcester, England

No one has to be brain of Britain to know why more young people scored higher exam results 30 years ago. It is not all down to the quality of teaching staff.

- Margaret, Birmingham