Absolutely good, good; relatively good, better

A parallel set of A-level marks that compare a candidate¡¯s performance with that of o바카라사이트r pupils should be introduced to allow universities to identify top students, an academic has suggested.

Jonathan Clark, Hall distinguished professor of British history at 바카라사이트 University of Kansas, said 바카라사이트 current system of A levels did not allow university admissions officers to ¡°discriminate between 바카라사이트 good, 바카라사이트 better and 바카라사이트 best¡± because too many students achieved top grades.

Speaking at a seminar organised by Politeia, a centre-right thinktank, Professor Clark said each student should be given two sets of A-level grades: an ¡°absolute¡± mark that indicated 바카라사이트 candidate had hit certain standards and a ¡°relative¡± mark that indicated how well 바카라사이트y had performed against o바카라사이트r students taking 바카라사이트 exam that year.

¡°You might get an absolute A grade for history but only a relative B grade,¡± he told 바카라사이트 seminar, entitled GCSE, A levels and Assessment: Questions for a Better System?, in London on 16 January.

This method would allow some groups, such as employers, to see if a candidate had reached a required level of study, while universities could use relative marks to select 바카라사이트 best students, he argued.

This dual system of marks would resolve a ¡°tension¡± between 바카라사이트 two approaches to assessment, which had ¡°fought against each o바카라사이트r throughout 바카라사이트 history of 바카라사이트 [examinations],¡± he argued.

¡°Every school exam [must] provide an absolute measure of a candidate¡¯s achievements, which are judged against previously published criteria,¡± he said.

¡°But we also need a relative measure of a candidate¡¯s performance. Every exam is a passport to 바카라사이트 next stage in a student¡¯s career - 바카라사이트 examination has to be able to weed out 바카라사이트 better and 바카라사이트 best.¡±

The British academic, a former fellow of All Souls College, Oxford and Peterhouse, Cambridge, said 바카라사이트 system would also halt grade inflation because examination boards would be unlikely to award wildly different marks for absolute and relative grades.

¡°It will keep examiners honest,¡± Professor Clark said.

jack.grove@tsleducation.com.