TODAY, an examination in comprehension for our readers. Examine the following facts and course of events. Then explain, in simple English, exactly what has been going with this summer's A-level results.

Less than two months ago, 94.3 per cent of students passed their A-levels - the biggest rise in the 51-year history of the exam and, if the trend continues, everyone will pass in 2004. Critics of the exam immediately sharpened their pencils and started writing how worthless and dumbed down they were. The grades weren't worth the paper they were written on, they said.

It turned out to be true: but only because it was now alleged that the papers had been too harshly marked. As the crisis grew, Estelle Morris, the Education Minister, was accused of politically forcing down grades to make the new-look A-levels appear to be as tough as their predecessors; one man whom nobody had ever heard of before - Sir William Stubbs - was forced to resign to save Ms Morris' skin. The furore grew so loud that pessimists predicted that the entire university system would collapse as tens of thousands of students had been given totally the wrong grades. So bad was the mess that no one would ever want to take the A-level again and Britain should switch immediately to a French-style Baccalaureate.

However, an investigation concluded that there was no evidence of any political pressure being applied on anyone, and when 200,000 papers were re-marked, only 1,945 were found to have faulty grades. This must be gravely disappointing for the 168 students who didn't get into the university of their choice, but it is only an error rate of less than 0.7 per cent.

So rather than there being a crisis in A-levels, they have been extremely well marked, and while Ms Morris was criticised for introducing the new A-levels too quickly, it now looks as if she should be praised for pushing through a reform that has been coped with.

In this comprehension examination, extra marks will be given for explanations of Sir William's departure when the subsequent inquiry found nothing wrong, and why there are still students who gained A grades in all their papers but got mysterious Unclassifieds for their coursework.

Because some people may find this comprehension examination beyond their mental ability, we have dumbed it down to a multiple choice question. Do you explain this summer's exam fiasco as a) a 'silly season' story for the media which was bored with war in Iraq; b) a perfect spin exercise by New Labour so that it now looks as if the new A2 exam is a triumph; c) a cynical attempt by the right-wing to prove that state education is unreformable and unworkable and so all children should be educated in the private sector; d) an almighty cock-up