'There Is Not Enough Competition For University Places', Says Education Consultant

Online, July 18, 2012 (Newswire.com) - In response to the recent BBC article, by Hannah Richardson[1], Education Consultant Adam Caller has announced his full support of Michael Gove's proposal that elite universities should be given a key role alongside exam boards in setting and approving A-levels.

Chairman of the Independent Schools Association, John Wood, urged the government to re-consider its decision to ask universities to drive the setting of exam syllabuses, stating that it should not be the preserve of the examination boards alone. He warns there is a danger that greater university input could make exams already considered to be narrow even worse.

Adam Caller, an independent education specialist and founder of leading private tutoring organisation, Tutors International, fully backs the Education Secretary's proposal, "I believe that too many students go to university," says Caller. "The standard of an A-Level A grade is not what it used to be. Exams are getting easier, and now around 50% of UK students go on to do a university degree. They are ill prepared for independent study and the rigours of degree-level learning, and as a result, degree courses are being devised that are less demanding. The upshot of which is that degrees are worth less in the real world and for graduates competing for jobs."

According to the BBC article, a Department for Education spokesman said: "Leading academics in our best universities have been clear that there are some serious problems with A-levels and they are not preparing pupils properly for rigorous degrees."

Caller agrees, "With universities setting the content of A-levels we can make real reforms to the sliding standards of exams, and move towards a system like that in the US, where the Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) courses add an extra layer of competition for the best university places. In the UK, A-Levels are no longer an adequate way to sift out the best students, and we need to rectify that."

[1] A-levels 'could become university entrance exams, Hannah Richardson, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-18101727