John Curran is right to point out the variation in the methods by which honours classifications are calculated.
That is not new. Ten years ago, the Student Assessment and Classification Working Group recognised the theoretical possibilities reflected in Curran's study and highlighted systematic and routine differences in institutions' rules. The group's work has confirmed that different algorithms can affect the classifications of some 15 per cent of those being classified.
It is to be hoped that the sector will address the full range of rules and regulations that will determine whatever system is eventually selected.
Harvey Woolf
Wolverhampton University