I recall watching a reality programme (gasp) a few years ago, which took a batch of children who'd all just passed their GCSEs with A and A* grades and put them in a 1950s grammar school setting. Their first task was to sit an exam. None of them passed it. It was the 11+ exam of the time. This seems to suggest dumbing down to me. I can't speak specifically of A Levels, but to bring this up-to-date, my daughter has just completed her fourth year. In exams she was allowed to take in texts (eg, a play) and aide-memoires (eg, hand-drawn pictures to remind her of French and Spanish words). It's not surprising, therefore, if more children pass exams with higher grades.