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Some high-achieving pupils in England received lower than expected grades that rose after being re-marked
Concerns have been raised about the reliability of the marking of GCSE English this summer, after complaints that normally high-achieving pupils in schools in England were awarded lower than expected results, which then went up after being re-marked.
In some cases, marks for individual questions doubled after a review, and at least one pupil’s grade jumped from 6 to 9. GCSEs are graded on a scale of 1 to 9, with 9 the highest grade.
There are stark contrasts between north and south England, in Northern Ireland and Wales, and between private and state schools
Many students in England receiving their A-level grades on Thursday will be happy after overall results showed an increase in the number of As and A*s, exceeding not only last year’s results, but those recorded before the disruption caused by the pandemic. Nevertheless, disparities remain between northern and southern England, and in Northern Ireland and Wales where results fell compared with last year, as well as between private and state schools.
It is the second year in England that A-level and GCSE assessment has returned to pre-pandemic norms. Exams were cancelled in 2020 and 2021 after Covid closed schools for long periods, and A-level grades based on teachers’ predictions led to a sharp spike in top results.
AQA awaits regulator approval for on-screen assessment of reading and listening components
GCSEs in Italian and Polish are to be assessed digitally in England from 2026, with plans to move at least one large-entry subject such as English to partial digital assessment by the end of the decade, a major exam board has announced.
England’s largest exam provider, AQA, said that subject to regulatory approval, the reading and listening components of the two language GCSEs would be examined through digital assessment for the first time.
Tens of thousands of students face likely drop in As and A*s as ministers aim to return results in England to pre-pandemic levels
Tens of thousands of A-level students face disappointment on results day next week, amid warnings that nearly 100,000 fewer As and A*s could be awarded as the government seeks to return grades to pre-pandemic levels.
Up to 50,000 candidates this summer are likely to miss out on the top grades they might have expected last year, according to one estimate, throwing applications for the most competitive universities into doubt.
Some grades not issued two days after they were due, leaving students unable to confirm university places
A BTec exam board has said it is “very sorry” that some students are still waiting for their results two days after they were due, leaving them unable to confirm university places.
Hundreds of thousands of students received A-level, BTec and T-level exam results on Thursday, but some in England and Wales who have taken BTec qualifications with exam board Pearson have had no news of their grades.
The education commitee has published the written submission it has received from Roger Taylor, chair of Ofqual, about the exam grade debacle. There is a link to it here.
We have received this written statement from @ofqual.
1. New restrictions have come into effect in Glasgow City, West Dunbartonshire & East Renfrewshire. I know residents in these areas - I am one - feel frustrated and are wondering why we have done X and not Y...so I thought it would be helpful to set out some of the rationale...
3. Our data suggests that spread in and between households is driving much of the transmission just now. That doesn’t mean there are no cases in pubs etc - but unlike in Aberdeen, pub clusters don’t appear, at this stage, to be main driver. That analysis has guided decisions...
4. Based on data, clinical advice is that restricting household gatherings indoors - where it is most difficult to keep physical distance - is vital. Closing pubs wouldn’t be an alternative to that - but an additional measure which, for now, they don’t consider proportionate
8. Data has also told us in recent days that we’ve had a number of positive cases amongst people returning from Greece - that’s why we’ve had to add Greece to quarantine list. Given uncertainties of situation, my advice remains to avoid non essential foreign travel for now
9. Finally, I know how difficult all this is. I hate having to take these decisions and you all hate the impact of them. My plea is that we treat yesterday’s developments as a wake up call and take seriously our individual responsibilities to stop #COVID spreading. Thank you!
Gavin Williamson has tried to lay the blame for the exams fiasco at the door of the regulator Ofqual after a humiliating climbdown that overturned up to 2.3m grades but left thousands of pupils in limbo.
Two days after saying there would be “no U-turn, no change”, the education secretary apologised and ordered a complete reversal whereby pupils in England will be able to revert to the A-level grades recommended by their teachers, if those are higher.