Catherine Bennett (The Guardian): The minister who doesn't make the grade

[Jack Rabbit]

From The Guardian Unlimited (London)
Dated Thursday August 18

The minister who doesn't make the grade
By Catherine Bennett

Do education ministers get stupider by the year? Lord Andrew Adonis's performance on yesterday's Today programme was received with consternation yesterday, by parents and educationalists who fear that years of grade inflation may now have compromised some of the highest offices of state. Lord Andrew, a former Oxford don, selected a sporting metaphor to explain what A-levels are for. "I tend to use the analogy of the marathon," he said. "That more people can and should be able to run marathons if they are properly trained." In a flash of patriotism, he quickly added that this "doesn't mean the achievement of Paula Radcliffe is any less significant at Helskinki last week".

It was not the sporting first rank, you gathered, but the game amateur and novelty contestants, pushing marbles with their noses, or dressed as ducks, whom Lord Andrew had in mind; yes, even those indomitable 90-year-olds who stagger over the line in darkness, several days late.

"What we need to do," he said, "is have a system that properly recognises the achievement of all those people who are running the marathon, doesn't ban a certain number of them from entering or from completing the course, but does also give proper challenge at the top and full recognition to those whose achievement is outstanding." The only difference, then, between the A-level marathon and the sporting variety is that in Lord Andrews' more easygoing fixture, those who come in the top 23% are indistinguishable in their outstanding excellence.

If excellence is the right word. As Lord Andrew pointed out, of those who achieve A grades, "the issue isn't whether they're excellent or not, because they've clearly achieved at a very high level".

Read more.

[LeftishBrit]

1. Andrew Adonis is a right-wing nutter

And having unelected cronies of the Prime Minister to hold the top offices should have gone out about 150 years ago.

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

2. Amen to that.

God I hate that ****.

[Mr Creosote]

3. What a powerful argument

for an elected House of Lords he is. Actually, he's also a powerful argument for a hereditary House of Lords.