Every year in the UK, secondary school pupils sit their GCSE exams in June, and spend an anxious 2 months waiting to find out how they have done. Then, every August, the exam results are released, and the press feign congratulations for the kids as they once again break the records set the previous year.

This year, more than 60% of pupils got at least 7 results at grades A-C. 10 years ago, the figure was 15%. Great, the education reforms brought in by the Labour government must be working. Exam pass rates have quadrupled in a decade, so teachers must be brilliant.

Except it’s not the case at all. Behind the figures, there are two huge problems. Firstly, a decade ago, exam results were tiered; this meant that the top 10% of students would be awarded an A, the next 10% a B, and so on. This had been the system for generations, but it was suddenly changed to incorporate a similar scheme to universities, whereby specific marks would define the grade boundaries, so for example, 70% and above would be graded at A, 60-70% at B etc. Except the GCSE system was confidential and flexible, which meant that no-one would actually know what the boundaries would be until the exams were marked, meaning that they could be manipulated to show growth every year.

This is a disservice to students and employers. I have had people apply for an intern position this summer with 7 A grades, only to discover that they couldn’t spell on their application form. We set an exam for candidates to assess numeracy and language skills. The questions were not hard, but none of the kids passed.

What the education department needs to understand is that poor exam grades are acceptable within the context of a system that properly rewards success. If employers lose their faith in the grading system – and most have – then it needs to be reviewed.