A-level results released
A bittersweet day for prospective UCL students, as they receive A-level results for exams they were unable to sit.
On August 13, students across England received results for A-level examinations that they did not sit; the culmination of an anomalous year in education. In mid-March, Gavin Williamson, the education secretary, announced that schools and colleges would close indefinitely to prevent the spread of Covid-19. The suspension of teaching and cancellation of exams left students confused and concerned about how they would attain their qualifications.
Despite Boris Johnson’s pledge to “make sure that [students’] progress is not impeded” as a result of abandoning ordinary exams, The Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) algorithm to determine grades has led to a mass downgrading of A-level results. The impact of this is direct and immediate, with opportunities being dashed for thousands of young people, including many of those hoping to attend UCL.
Ofqual said grades were primarily calculated using teachers’ predictions, mock exams and student rankings. Using an algorithm, results were standardised taking into account factors such as a pupils’ past results and the entire school’s past attainment. According to official figures, this algorithm has downgraded 39.1 per cent of the 700,000 teacher-assessed grades submitted in England. Whilst the majority were lowered by a single grade, 3.5 per cent, or 25,000 exams, were reduced by two grades or more.
The fairness and validity of linking this year’s A-level results to an institution’s past performance has been heavily disputed. Statistics released by Ofqual show that the system has disproportionately affected state school students: after standardisation, comprehensives have been awarded only half as many A and A* grades as private schools, and the greatest disparity between students’ predicted and final grades are seen among pupils from the lowest socioeconomic background. The implementation of this system has underscored the extent of inequality in the British education system.
Whilst Ofqual defends its approach stating “the analyses show no evidence that this year’s process of awarding grades has introduced bias,” Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, believes that “the statistical process has proved to be far too blunt an instrument and has created clear injustices.” Similarly, Keir Starmer tweeted that the system has “fundamentally failed,” leaving “parents, teachers and young people...rightly upset, frustrated and angry.”
Prospective UCL students affected by the system share this frustration and outrage. One conditional offer-holder lost her place at UCL after receiving A*BE instead of her predicted AAB, yet is unable to appeal via the system due to problems with her mocks. She is an example of the thousands rejected from UCL and other elite institutions due to skewed grades. Another anonymous state-schooled student highlighted how using the algorithm has reinforced the educational gap: “It has deprived students like me the chance to overcome the poor quality of our schools and to surpass society’s expectations.” He emphasised his disappointment with the inflexibility of UCL alongside other elite institutions who did not participate in clearing: “I got CCC instead of AAA. My results are clearly inaccurate and don’t reflect my academic ability,” yet UCL showed “little empathy or leniency,” despite the Universities Minister Michelle Donelan urging university heads to be as "flexible as possible."
One student who met her UCL offer feels “extremely lucky” to have gotten into her first-choice university when “for many of [her] friends this [is not] the case.” Whilst she will be studying at UCL in September, she still feels passionately that “it’s extremely unfair to get a low grade, not because of our efforts, but because the government thought we would, based on the area we live in.”
Williamson’s introduction of a “triple lock” process means students affected by the system are being encouraged to either accept their given grade, appeal on the basis of their mock results, or resit exams in the autumn. However, 56 per cent of colleges did not hold mock exams, and the UCL fresher emphasised that relying on mock grades “ignores the progress that we could have made in five months,” the fact that students did not predict mocks to be “in any way important,” and that mocks usually focus on “one section of the whole curriculum,” which perhaps “overlooks individual strengths in a certain section.”
Letters have been sent to Ofqual calling for an "urgent technical review" of the standardisation process. Distressed students, parents and teachers hope this pressure will lead to England following the Scottish government’s lead, reinstating teacher-awarded marks. Additionally, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has warned it will intervene in the controversy to mitigate against any “potential negative” effect of the standardisation process on ethnic minorities, disabled children and those from deprived backgrounds. This suggests hope for those rejected from prestigious universities, such as UCL.