Universities introduce extra tests for aspiring students as they lose confidence in A-levels

Growing numbers of courses stipulate extra tests on top of A-levels to help dons distinguish between applicants with good grades.

Many are set by Oxford, Cambridge and other elite institutions which can no longer rely on A grades at A-level to identify the brightest candidates.

But others, including some teacher training courses, are used to check that applicants have basic literacy skills.

There are fears that students are finishing compulsory schooling without a proper grasp of written English.

The report, provided by a new advice service for tutors, reveals the extent of testing in university admissions for the first time.

The Supporting Professionalism in Admissions programme analysed responses from institutions to a question about admissisions tests from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service.

Universities were asked to declare whether they use any extra tests as they complete their annual update of entry requirements on the UCAS website. The SPA uncovered 57 separate tests.

Its report warned that fees for entering the tests and associated costs such as coaching sessions may be putting off some candidates from applying.

It also warned that in some areas, public funds earmarked to raise teenagers' university aspirations are being used to fund coaching for admissions tests.

The SPA report revealed that two generic tests of academic aptitude are being tried out in the UK. Thousands of sixth-formers have agreed to take part in the pilots.

In addition, there are five national tests in specific disciplines developed by universities in conjunction with exam boards.

For example, one of them, called the LNAT, is used by 11 institutions to recruit for law courses while the Sixth Term Examination Papers in Mathematics is used by Cambridge and occasionally Warwick to recruit for maths.

Oxford and Cambridge have 35 of their own internal tests between them. In addition, 15 other universities and colleges have come up with their own papers.

Applicants wishing to do degrees in primary education at St Martin's College, Lancaster, must sit 20-minute literacy tests while secondary education demands a 40-minute grammar and writing test.

The SPA report said tests were being used in "particularly, but not exclusively, high-demand subjects where differentiation between high-achieving applicants is the most difficult".

It adds: "One key argument to explain why more tests have been developed is to aid differentiation between the most able applicants, particularly brought about due to concerns over the increasing numbers of candidates gaining high grades."