Hardest grading ever or bull?

That's ridiculous. One wonders why people even shell out money to go there if they're going to fail.

Might be true. Some countries haven't gone for grade inflation in the way that the USA and UK have.

Has there been grade inflation? Or just better teaching?

Funny really, a government invests a fortune in education and people say 'exams are getting easier'. Simpler to say that than to look at whether the money has actually been well spent, or whether access to internet at home & school has helped people understand the material.

If I'd have had access to the internet at GCSE I'd have certainly got higher grades for two of my projects.

Has there been grade inflation? Or just better teaching?

Funny really, a government invests a fortune in education and people say 'exams are getting easier'. Simpler to say that than to look at whether the money has actually been well spent, or whether access to internet at home & school has helped people understand the material.

If I'd have had access to the internet at GCSE I'd have certainly got higher grades for two of my projects.

I'm convinced its grade inflation and the weakening of subject content at GCSE and A-level. I've seen past O-level papers and these are far more challenging than GCSEs or IGCSEs. Even GCSE papers from the first two years that they were introduced (late 1980s) are far more difficult than the papers that current students face.

You used to need to understand the material to get a decent grade at O-level; now you can get through with very little understanding, a bit of memorisation, and guesswork.The modularisation of A-levels and resit culture that permeates schools has also had an effect. Some of the watering down is laughable - for example, examiners in GCSE English Language are advised not to take into account a candidate's spelling and grammar in awarding marks.

The competition between exam boards has also resulted in grade inflation. Schools move away from the more challenging specifications because of how this might impact their position in league tables and this adversely affects the exam board's income stream.

My dad teaches maths at a Russell Group university and he says that they now spend a large part of the first year of the course covering material that used to be in the A-level syllabus. There are fewer compulsory courses beyond the first year and as a result students have a tendency to choose easier courses that will get them a higher degree result as all they want / need is a 2:1 - employers often don't look at the modules actually taken; this has led to a weakening in the rigor of the degree. Academics are also under pressure to award more firsts and 2:1s and to pass borderline candidates.

I'd love to believe that there has been an increase in teaching quality and students' understanding of the material. Unfortunately, the evidence suggests otherwise.