Degrees Of Importance

‘LET it never be said that A-Levels are easier than they used to be in the days when students were expected to be able to recite all 24 books of the Iliad from memory and write a short proof of Fermat’s Last Theorem.

The patron saint of English

Applicants to MI6 are expected to show more than a rudimentary knowledge of geography and be able to identify at least two of the three members of the axis of evil on a map.

Newcomers to the Treasury not only have to have a good grasp of maths, but also understand such concepts as double counting and treble counting and forgetting to count at all.

But there will always be graduates of the Fred Trueman School Of Things Were Better In My Day for whom A-levels are not the blue riband academic qualification of days of yore.

And that is why the Telegraph reports on how eight universities are demanding that applicants to study law take a special test on their understanding of English ‘because A-levels no longer provide a reliable test of ability’.

Why this test should only apply to potential law students we don’t know – no other profession prizes the ability to write gobbledegook more highly.

The two-hour paper, which will be introduced in November, will contain 40 multiple choice questions, testing students’ ability to analyse passages and make logical deductions.

An example might be: ‘If Mr A describes Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction as ‘active, detailed and growing’ only a year before it turns out that there are no weapons of mass destruction, what does that make Mr A?’

A) A liar

B) A fool

C) Prime Minister

D) A lawyer

Answers on a postcard (with large cheque) to Anorak University (Law Faculty) at the usual address. Send SAE if you want to receive your degree certificate.’

Posted: 3rd, February 2004 | In: Broadsheets Comment | TrackBack | Permalink