Re: I have a problem..
Actually, when I was at school, the break point between a B and an A at 'A'-level was (anecdotally) around 70%, and actually changed year on year, because it was marked to the bell curve. This was when 'A' levels were marked A-E, with A-C being a pass. No A* back then.
So getting more than 70% in exams where a grade was given meant that you were likely to get the top grade, and the majority of successful students normally achieved Bs and C's.
A C normally started at around 45%.
So in my case, a B and two C's at A-level was enough to secure (just) a place at Durham University, which was then one of the top 10 in the UK. Someone who got three As at A-level was really exceptional, and in my grammar school (actually, we were the last but one year of that school), I believe that out of about 200 students, I only remember three or four of my peers getting 3 grade "A"s or more.
Marking to the curve made comparing results year-on-year more difficult, but gave a measure of how good a student was against their peers, which isolated the difficulty of the exams. So in a year with particularly difficult exams, about the same proportion got high grades.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
