And to be honest, I am not sure which way I lean on this one.
I am concerned about A levels, in that I don't think they are a consistent currency for measuring educational attainment. I did three back in 1981, failed one and got two in those days reasonable passes, but passes that would now be considered not good enough. They were hard, and required interpretation and thought, or so I thought then. I did another one in 2004 and got straight As, and could see the marks I had gained for each section of the assessment, so where I had done slightly less well and where I had been frankly embarrassingly good. Now as this was an A level in French and I have never been good at verb endings or gender agreements between adjectives and nouns and have trouble remembering what gender things are anyway, this brilliance was a bit worrying. I also didn't feel I needed to interpret or analyse anything (no learned debate of Candide or Les Enfants de Siecle).
I am also concerned that A-levels and those that teach them are, with the best will in the world, a bit removed from the work arena. I can quite see that something is needed for those who don't want to leave school at 16, or whose parents are unlikely to let them leave school at 16, that is a bit more grounded in the real world therefore. Thus the Diplomas in Manufacturing for example, particularly as they are influenced by the needs of real employers, should be a good grounding in practical knowledge and skills that can assist in employment and also in developing the talents of young people.
I think I agree with the CBI in that Diplomas in Humanities and Languages may therefore not instantly spring out as priority areas for development. Equally the problem of running a dual system, with private and grammar schools working with A-levels as the gold standard and non-selective schools and colleges running with Diplomas will inevitably bring or reinforce a two-tier system.
On the whole I am not wedded to A-levels, so I would be happy to see them go once and for all, if there was a system with the full range of subjects available for young people to access. Whether anyone will see the need for a Diploma option in Latin or Ancient Greek, it must be offered in order to provide the full catalogue of options.
What I find unhelpful in the whole debate, are those people and organisations that trash the concept of Diplomas without any real knowledge. If they continue to get bad press before they start, those young people who do them will be stigmatised, and Diplomas could fail without being given a chance. The A level isn't a sacrosanct gold standard, any more than the O level was. Stop sneering and see how young people and employers work with the new qualifications and assess it in 10 years time.
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