The increasingly indignant argument went: how could courses be tougher, and yet the same number of young people get the top grades? So the news that the proportion of A*-As awarded in these “reformed” subjects went down will be welcomed in some parts. This reverses something that has been in place since 2000: the idea that AS-levels exams count as the first 50% of an A-level. For the first time this year, those sitting reformed subjects were just tested at the end of their two-year course. Unlike in England, AS-levels in Wales and Northern Ireland will still count towards A-levels – albeit as 40% of the qualification, rather than the previous 50%.

Source: The Guardian August 17, 2017 11:10 UTC