From LYNN BURNET
While supporting Fullick and Fullick’s call for reform in science education
for 16 to 19-year-olds (Talking Point, 31 August), I object to the implication
that the present grading system compares candidates with one another rather
than against a set of agreed performance criteria. A grading system based
on predetermined percentages achieving the various grades ceased to exist
in 1987. The E/N (pass/fail) and other grade boundaries are based on close
scrutiny of candidates’ scripts by a panel of experienced examiners (including
A-level teachers) who agree on the minimum standard required for the award
of each grade. No candidate is condemned to failure merely as a result of
being in the lower tail of the distribution.
Lynn Burnet King Edward VII School Sheffield, South Yorkshire
