2 + 2 = 5? You've passed!

The news that GCSE examiners are being encouraged to ignore mistakes when marking papers will inevitably lead to accusations that exam results just don't mean anything any more. So are exams easier than when I took mine, some 50-odd years ago? They're certainly different, but what's even more different is the method of teaching. In my day, you were taught the subject, and the exam was a test of how well, or badly, you had understood what you had been taught. Today you are taught to pass the exam, and your exam result is more a measure of how well the teacher has performed, rather than any indication of your understanding of the subject.