Adrian Elliott implies that those who say that exams are getting easier have little to support their views other than prejudice and trivial experiments organised by the entertainment industry.

He is wrong. Studies conducted by Durham University’s Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring show that, having accounted for student ability, exam results have risen inexorably over the past 20 years. For example, a student who achieved a grade D at A-level in 1988 could now confidently expect to gain a B. Such comparisons may be of little practical value, but to dismiss grade inflation as a myth is disingenuous.

George Bethell, Director, Anglia Assessment Ltd, Stowmarket, Suffolk.