The British government has rejected claims A-level exams are getting easier after results today showed a huge jump in the number of passes by students.
Business leaders said the exams were becoming "meaningless" amid predictions that pass rates could soon reach almost 100 per cent.
The Joint Council for General Qualifications said in England and Wales A-level pass rates were up 4.5 per cent on last year to 94.3 per cent and that the number of top "A" grades rose by 2.1 per cent to 20.7 per cent.
The figures also showed that girls outperformed boys in almost every subject.
The Institute of Directors (IoD) called for a fundamental review of the examination process, calling it "symptomatic of endemic and rampant grade inflation. "We must ask ourselves what do we want from A-levels as it is clear that they are becoming increasingly meaningless," IoD head of policy Ms Ruth Lea said in a statement.
But British education minister Mr Stephen Twigg insisted the results reflected the fact pupils were working harder whilst the standards of teaching had improved.
"Year on year we get the same criticisms levelled at the system, but this year we can see conclusively that . . . standards of teaching and learning are better than ever," he said.
Mr Twigg also rejected suggestions the good results made it difficult to compare students' performances.