By Angela Harrison BBC News Online education staff

The first official report into a bitter row over A-level grades says there was no wrong-doing and puts the blame on poor teaching.

Head teachers have reacted angrily to the report by the exams watchdog, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), which said there was no evidence to back claims that coursework had been down-graded unfairly.

The inquiry was launched after allegations that exam boards had come under pressure to reduce A-level grades to prevent claims that exams were getting easier.

Head teachers first raised concerns about marking after they discovered some of their top pupils had scored As in written papers but Us in coursework.

Confusion

The QCA looked only at coursework units in English literature, history and psychology A2 exams - the second part of the new-style A-levels.

The QCA's chief executive, Ken Boston, told a news conference the coursework grades had been similar to those for written exams.

Some teachers or schools, he said, might not have understood what was expected of pupils under the new A-level exam system.

Under the new system, A-levels are made up of AS-levels, usually taken after one year of study and A2s, which are usually taken a year later.

Dr Boston said there was "much confusion about the level of AS and A2 standards, especially in coursework, and some confusion in the use of bands to establish grades".

Coursework set by the Oxford and Cambridge and RSA (OCR) exam board had "not been graded more severely".

Graham Able: "It's ludicrous"

Dr Boston said the problem was limited. The number of pupils scoring two As and a U grade at A-level was small - 979 out of 181,000 candidates (about 0.5%).

About half of them got the U for coursework.

Sir William Stubbs, chairman of the QCA, said: "Have the schools or teachers in some way or another not really understood the demands required for the coursework element in the new A2 level?

"It seems to me on this evidence candidates were awarded the grades they earned."

Head teachers have attacked the report, saying it shows they were right to demand the independent inquiry now being carried out by Mike Tomlinson, the former chief inspector of schools.

Three organisations which represent head teachers in both the state and private sector have issued a joint statement condemning the report.

The ill-informed public discussion has done untold damage to the education system

Dr Ken Boston

The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference(HMC), the Girls' Schools Association (GSA) and from the Secondary Heads Association (SHA) insist the problem is widespread.

Their statement said: "Although there has been a failure of communications to schools by QCA and examining boards concerning the standards of AS and A2, this should not be turned into blame for A-level teachers, many of whom are experienced and senior examiners.

"This is causing a crisis of confidence."

A few hours after the report was published, representatives of the head teachers' groups met the Education Secretary Estelle Morris.

Afterwards, they said the meeting had been constructive, with a "shared agreement that the needs of pupils are paramount and that the Tomlinson inquiry is the right way forward".

Widespread

John Dunford, the general secretary of SHA is angry that teaching is being blamed, and said the problem had not been restricted to a few schools.

"The problem is much more widespread than this limited report suggests and we will be presenting our evidence to the independent inquiry."

Edward Gould, chairman of the HMC said: "I do not believe that the report will do anything to bring back the level of confidence required in the examining process."

Ed Gould: Sceptical about the QCA findings

Graham Able, the head master of Dulwich College, where several pupils were given unexpectedly low grades for course work said: "It is ludicrous to say schools chose the wrong course work.

"It is a load of rubbish and a deflection from the central point which is that marks were given and they were downgraded."

At the news conference, Dr Boston the row over A-levels had turned into a "frenzy" and insisted A-levels were an "immense achievement".

He said: "The ill-informed public discussion has done untold damage to the education system.

"Both the facts of the matter and the data do not justify the intense public concern expressed."

GCSE alert

Earlier, head teachers called for Mike Tomlinson to extend his inquiry to include GCSEs.

The National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) said it was gathering evidence that GCSEs in music, English literature and English language had been affected by "slipshod marking".

Mr Tomlinson will publish his report on 27 September.

As well as examining allegations that exam boards were put under pressure to down-grade results, he will look at the wider question of whether standards in A-levels are being maintained.