A-level tables are 'misleading' (From Warrington Guardian)

A-level tables are 'misleading'

THE latest A Level league tables are misleading and discriminate against further education students, Halton College has claimed.

The whole of a student's programme needs to be calculated to get an accurate measure of achievement, say tutors.

Acting vice principal of curriculum Andrew Ellams said: "Thankfully this is the last year that these misleading tables will be used.

"In 2006, they are being changed by the Government to reflect the wide variety of learning within our colleges and schools."

College students who mix A levels with vocational courses lose out, he said, because points are only awarded for A levels.

"The more A levels you do, the more points you score," said Mr Ellams. "Because a wide variety of vocational education is not counted in the tables, a major section of the good work that colleges do is simply disregarded."

Awarding points for each subject, he said, gives a much more accurate picture. SS Peter & Paul High School achieved the highest subject points of 69.1, Halton College 66.3, Widnes & Runcorn Sixth Form College 60.9 and St Chad's RC High School 55.1