<p>I wonder what implications this will have in the US?</p>
<p>Absolutely nothing. It’s an undated article (never a good sign) from the Daily Mail (also never a good sign). The reference to Willetts as education spokesman, however, suggests that it would have been in 2005-7. </p>
<p>Furthermore, the UCAS points system was tipped for being scrapped in 2012, and it is only the lower ranked universities that ask for qualifications in terms of UCAS points - the decent ones ask for specific grades e.g. AAA or 38 IB points. </p>
<p>boomting is right: The article was a dreadful one by Sarah Harris back in July 2006 and it was wrong then. The calculations given do not take into account that most A level students also get Tariff points for AS Courses which they do the year before A levels. They do 4 x AS (Advanced Subsidiary) Levels and then 3 x A2 (A Levels). Combining the tariff points for this normal route would look like below:</p>
<p>3 x A*(A Level) + 4 x A (AS Level) = 660 Points
the equivalent in IB would be between 42 and 43 points - so it is broadly comparable</p>
<p>What I hate about the article is the assumption that a 35 is a “modest” result when the world average is 29! A 35 is an awesome result. I am not saying that IB is better or worse than A levels - like many things it depends on the student and their aims and, ultimately, admission to a top university (whatever THAT means) is MUCH more dependant upon the softer elements. 99% of applicants to the very best unis have the very best grades from their studies…that is a given. How do I know? Well I was once one of the admissions tutors.</p>
<p>@CounsellorHK - not quite on the AS & A2 UCAS point calculations. They don’t get to count the points from AS twice, so A<em>A</em>A<em>a would actually give
3 x A</em> A2 @ 140 points each = 420 points
1 x A AS @ 60 points
Total: 480 points </p>
<p>I’m not even really going to read the article as unfortunately, the Daily Mail is not a reliable source of accurate information as previous posters have alluded to. </p>
<p>I think the only way to compare the two (if necessary) is to see what offers the top universities make for the same course. For example, one year, Maths in a particular Cambridge College attracted offers of A<em>AA, and 45 IB points; I know the IB student in question felt hard done by. This was when A</em>s were first introduced for A levels. That year also, the Oxford tariff was AAA across the board, whilst the IB tariff that I was aware of ranged from 41-45.</p>
<p>Things might have changed now, but this is how it was then…</p>