A* A B C D E N U A - E
French
2012 6.8 32.6 29.4 18.5 8.8 3.1 0.8 99.2 12511
2011 7.7 32.4 29.3 18.0 8.7 3.0 0.9 99.1 13196
2010 7.7 31.4 28.5 18.2 9.6 3.7 0.9 99.1 13850
2009 38.6 27.6 18.3 10.5 4.1 0.9 99.1 14333
2008 37.3 27.7 18.9 10.6 4.3 1.2 98.8 14885
2007 36.3 28.0 18.2 11.6 4.6 1.3 98.7 14477
2006 34.7 27.4 19.5 11.8 5.3 1.3 98.7 14650
2005 32.9 27.5 20.0 12.4 5.6 1.6 98.4 14484
2004 33.4 26.8 19.8 12.6 5.8 1.6 98.4 15149
2003 31.4 26.4 20.0 13.3 6.6 2.3 97.7 15531
2002 29.3 25.2 20.9 13.8 7.7 3.1 96.9 15614
2001 24.7 20.5 19.4 16.0 11.2 5.5 2.7 91.8 17939
2000 23.5 21.5 20.1 16.3 10.5 5.6 2.5 91.9 18221
1999 23.2 20.4 20.1 16.4 11.3 5.7 2.9 91.4 21072
1998 21.6 20.7 19.6 17.3 11.6 6.2 3.0 90.8 23633
1997 20.2 19.9 19.6 16.7 12.1 6.9 4.6 88.5 25916
1996 20.9 18.0 20.3 17.3 12.5 6.9 4.1 89.0 27490
1995 20.1 18.3 19.3 17.7 13.4 7.1 4.1 88.8 27563
1994 19.9 17.7 19.0 17.4 13.4 7.8 4.7 87.5 28942
1993 18.6 17.3 19.5 18.5 13.6 7.6 4.9 87.5 29886
That table is from Brian Stubbs's Student Performance Analysis pages.
http://www.bstubbs.co.uk/new.htm
Most language teachers are aware of how hard it is for students to achieve an A* at A-level compared to other subjects. Ofqual are aware of the issue and one wonders why it has not been dealt with already, but what the data also show is that, over the course of two decades, grade inflation has not hit French A-level nearly as much as some other subjects.
Compare, for example, results for English, a subject which attracts a wider range of abilities than French:
A* A B C D E N U A - E
English
2012 6.8 14.4 26.9 29.9 17.2 4.2 0.6 99.4 89638
2011 7.1 15.2 27.1 29.2 16.6 4.2 0.6 99.4 89980
2010 7.4 15.7 26.6 27.9 17.0 4.6 0.8 99.2 89320
2009 23.0 27.1 28.4 16.4 4.4 0.7 99.3 91815
2008 22.8 26.7 27.7 16.8 5.1 0.9 99.1 89111
2007 23.2 26.0 27.3 17.2 5.3 1.0 99.0 85275
2006 21.9 25.3 27.4 18.2 6.0 1.2 98.8 86640
2005 20.7 24.5 27.4 19.1 6.9 1.4 98.6 85858
2004 20.6 23.7 27.1 19.6 7.4 1.6 98.4 81649
2003 20.0 24.5 27.3 19.5 7.1 1.6 98.4 78476
2002 18.9 24.3 27.2 19.9 7.8 1.9 98.1 72196
2001 16.5 19.8 24.5 20.9 12.1 4.5 1.7 93.8 76808
2000 15.6 19.5 24.0 21.1 12.8 4.9 2.1 93.0 86428
1999 15.2 19.2 23.8 21.1 13.4 5.2 2.1 92.7 90340
1998 14.9 19.1 22.9 21.3 13.7 5.6 2.5 91.9 94099
1997 14.3 18.9 22.7 21.6 14.5 5.6 2.4 92.0 93546
1996 14.5 19.4 21.8 21.1 14.3 6.2 2.7 91.1 86627
1995 14.1 19.0 21.8 20.4 14.7 6.5 3.5 90.0 86467
1994 13.5 19.0 21.6 20.8 14.6 6.8 3.6 89.5 88214
1993 12.9 18.1 20.3 20.9 15.3 7.5 4.9 87.5 89238
In this case it is clear that, given the fact that the number of entries has remained static. The decline in the number of young people taking A-level languages is well documented, so the examination boards have had to keep a careful eye on grade allocations as the average ability level of candidates has risen. In French they have been much more successful, it would appear, in holding the standard than in English. (You would see a similar pattern in other subjects too.)
My feeling, having taught A-level French for over 30 years is that you still need to be a very good candidate to get an A grade. What may have changed a little is the ease with which you can now get grades C to E. My strong hunch is that candidates who may have scraped an E two decades ago are now more likely to achieve a D or a C.
Modern languages remain among the hardest of A-levels in terms of grading. Absolute difficulty level is harder to assess and much depends on a student's natural aptitude.
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