Almost 40% of all A-level results in England have been downgraded after exams were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Some 35.6% of all exam results were adjusted down by one grade, and 3.3% were brought down by two grades, with 0.2% dropping down by three grades.
Overall, an estimated 280,000 exam entries have been affected by the unprecedented process.
This is due to the Joint Council for Qualifications’ “standardised” schools’ predictions using the past performances of students to try and maintain some form of consistency in a year that has fallen into chaos by the coronavirus outbreak.
Teachers were told to submit the grades that they thought each student would be receiving if they had sat the true exam papers, alongside a ranking list of their students, following exams being cancelled as a result of COVID-19.
This comes after the First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, has apologised after pupils in some of the most underprivileged areas of Scotland have had their exam pass rate downgraded by as many as two times than that of students from the wealthiest regions of the country.
The exams watchdog Ofqual says that standards across the country have been maintained, with the top A* and A grades increasing by 2.4% the highest rate of these grades on record.
The figure for students that have been accepted on to degree courses at universities across the country has also seen an increase of 2.9% compared to last year.
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said he wanted to “make sure young people have the best possible options in front of them” despite the coronavirus outbreak.
But he told Sky News: “I can’t sit here and say that there won’t be a single child in this country who won’t be in a situation of where they have got a grade that isn’t a fair reflection of their work.”
There were several reports of disappointment, one person tweeting: “My sister got her A-level results today! Her mock results were A,A,A – her centre assessed results were A,A,A which she 100% deserves. Yet because of clever Boris’ algorithm she’s ended up with B,B,C … HOW do you come to that result when NONE of her work has ever been graded that?”
This comes after Gavin Williamson has said that the education and care of the country’s children is “a national priority” as the government plans to return students to schools throughout England in September.
Labour’s shadow education secretary Kate Green also branded the government’s approach to exams as “chaotic”.
“Today is always an anxious day for pupils and parents across the country,” she said. “That anxiety is far worse this year because of the fiasco caused by the Conservative government.”
And the children’s commissioner for England Anne Longfield also said “inequalities already existing in the education system will be deepened”.
She warned “more affluent schools with more resources are more likely to appeal” so the process should be “as easy as possible” to ensure “disadvantaged schools and students are not left out”.
