Unfair A-levels are the best idea we’ve got

A-level results day is the most terrifying moment in anyone’s education. Poor GCSEs can be overlooked by a school that knows their pupils could do well in the sixth form. Degree classifications at university are so broad that one bad paper may well not matter. But A-Levels are brutal. Students who miss their university offer by just one grade in one subject can find themselves rejected without the right of appeal or the means to resit. Their future changes instantly by the barest of margins. 

But the main problem with A-levels is that it’s not clear what they actually measure. We might like to think that grades reflect ability. They do, but there are far more variables at play. Hard work is one factor. The skill and experience of teachers are also part of the equation, but there is also luck. Students who spread their revision thinly can do well, but those that target their efforts might do very well indeed if they guessed right.