Canbury Press signs Sherwood's 'devastating' exam results investigation

Canbury Press has signed an investigative book by Dennis Sherwood that “exposes the stark unreliability of GCSE and A-Level grades”.

Missing the Mark is being published on 4th August in time for the release of this summer’s results, the first time pupils have sat real exams for three years because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Canbury managing director Martin Hickman acquired world rights directly from the author, a management consultant with expertise in complex mathematics.

Subtitled Why So Many School Exam Grades are Wrong – and How to Get Results We Can Trust, the book promises to reveal the variability in the award of exam grades. The publisher said: “It reveals the deep flaws in GCSEs, AS-Levels and A-Levels affecting one in four school exam grades awarded in England each year.”

Hickman said: “For years young people and their parents have often been surprised by the grades they have received for individual subjects. Sometimes this is down to their performance in the exam hall, but, unbeknown to them, randomness lurks at the heart of the system.

“In this easy-to-read and slowly devastating book, Dennis Sherwood exposes this unfairness and explains why so many pupils receive final grades that don’t do them justice. And he suggests ways to regain trust, which apply to essay-based exams throughout the world.

“It’s a must-read for every pupil, parent and teacher concerned about the grades awarded.”