Pupils in line for bumper A-level results next week as inflated grades 'could become new normal'
Pupils are set to enjoy a bumper crop of A-level results next week as inflated grades become the 'new normal', a report predicts.
The paper, from the Centre for Education and Employment Research (CEER) at Buckingham University, suggests the proportion getting top grades could remain above pre-pandemic levels.
It means more than a quarter – up to 28 per cent – of entries may be awarded an A or A* grade.
Author Professor Alan Smithers raised concerns that grade inflation 'may be creeping back in again' following repeated attempts to bring it under control.
On Thursday, hundreds of thousands of sixth formers will pick up their A-level results and discover whether they have secured their university place.
Last year, 27.8 per entries got at A or A*, a record high outside of the freak pandemic years of 2020 to 2022.
This compares with 27.2 per cent in 2023 and 25.4 per cent in 2019.
Professor Smithers said: 'A-level grades have a chance to settle down this year after the volatility of Covid and its aftermath.
'They are likely to be close to last year's where top grades were a percentage point or two above pre-Covid levels.
'This may not sound very much but, in fact, was an extra 14,200 A*s and 21,300 A*/As.'
He said many of the factors which likely pushed up last year's results were still in place.
These include a decision to raise top grades in languages to attract more entries.
In addition, there has been an increase in people taking maths, which is known to produce more high grades.
He added: 'I think that last year, with its unexpected increase in top grades, could well be the beginning of a new norm, higher than that of pre-Covid.'
Last year's record high was a surprise because the Government had originally said it would return grading to pre-pandemic standards.
After 2010, the then newly-formed exams regulator Ofqual was instructed to limit top grades to around a quarter of entries, to prevent grade inflation.
This Tory initiative followed years of soaring grades under New Labour.
However, during the pandemic, top grades ballooned to around half of entries due to exams being cancelled and teachers marking work.
Grading was then gradually reduced to close to pre-pandemic levels between 2022 and 2023.
Professor Smithers said A-level grades should have been 'back to normal' last year, but instead they rose again.
He added: 'There has to be the suspicion that the inflation which bedevilled A-level grades in the days before Ofqual may be creeping back in again.'
In his report, Professor Smithers also suggested that 'girls will do better than boys' once again at the top A-level grades.
Last year, the proportion of girls' A-level entries awarded A or higher was 28.0 per cent, which was 0.4 percentage points higher than the equivalent figure for boys' entries – 27.6 per cent.
He said: 'Sadly, the under-performance of boys is no more likely than in previous years to receive the attention it deserves.
'They and the country would benefit considerably if ways could be found of ensuring that the potential of many boys is not wasted.'
His report also showed this year A-level entries for psychology and sociology are down, but entries for mathematics, physics and chemistry are up.
Professor Smithers said: 'The swing towards maths and the sciences could be a response to the former government's promotion of them.'
He added: 'I wonder if there is growing recognition that these social sciences promise more than they deliver, whereas the quantitative may be hard but they are meaningful.'
A Department for Education spokesman said: 'These claims are completely false.
'It is vital that qualifications are rigorous, and we are confident in Ofqual's work, as the independent regulator, to manage the risk of grade inflation and ensure this is not impacting standards.
'This suggestion demonstrates a lack of understanding of Ofqual's role and the work they do every year to ensure fairness, with this year being no different.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Times
3 hours ago
- Times
The DVLA has stalled our £8k aid trip to Ukraine
I am part of a small team of part-time volunteers based in Devon. Our organisation is called Nightingales UK and for the past two years we have been buying vehicles and filling them with medical aid, which we then deliver to Ukrainian hospitals and directly to the front line. So far we have delivered 12 vehicles, mainly 4x4s, which we have left in the country to be used as medical response cars. In March the charitable trust that we work with in Ukraine asked if we could supply a minibus so that wounded soldiers and elderly, injured and unwell people could be transported to shelters and hospitals. We accepted its request and bought a minibus for £3,000. Before we embarked on the journey, we sent the vehicle's logbook to the Ukrainian authorities, only to find that it contained insufficient information, which means that the minibus isn't allowed to enter the country. In April I wrote to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) explaining what information was required in the logbook. We are not asking for additional sections to be added, only that the existing sections are completed. The DVLA told us that it would take four weeks to get a new logbook, but it has been 12 weeks and we still don't have it. I called the DVLA and was promised a return call that didn't materialise. I called again and was left on hold for 85 minutes before I eventually spoke to someone who seemed to appreciate the urgency and promised that I would get a call from a case handler. But once again I have not been called. • Sally sold her car, but is still being stung for Ulez charges The frustration is enormous. We have tried to get the Ukrainian authorities to reconsider but they won't budge. In the meantime, we have delivered another smaller vehicle, but this isn't really suitable for transporting elderly people. The other volunteers and I have busy lives and limited resources, in financial terms and the time available to raise funds. We transport roughly £5,000 of medical supplies per trip. We therefore have about £8,000 pounds tied up in this minibus, which has been stuck in the UK for months when it could be saving lives. That is nothing short of scandalous. I have spent a lot of time trying to get a meaningful response from the DVLA but we have been left in Devon Your team have been making a valiant effort to get much-needed help to the front line in Ukraine. Yet it was incredibly frustrating that red tape, and false promises from the DVLA, had stalled your efforts. Your problem was a relatively simple one which should not have taken longer than a month to solve. Yet three months down the line you were still waiting, despite the DVLA assuring you that your case had been prioritised. A logbook, also called a V5C certificate, contains information about a vehicle and the registered keeper. You showed me the minibus's logbook, which was missing several pieces of information, including the vehicle's model, number of seats, weight and the maximum load it could carry. It is the manufacturer that gives the DVLA this information, but when the vehicle was registered in 2003 this was missing. Either way, you should not have had to wait this long for the DVLA to sort it out. You had done your own research and supplied the information to fill the gaps but sadly this didn't speed things up. To amend the logbook the DVLA needed to carry out extra checks and get evidence from several sources to make sure the information was accurate. Thankfully after I spoke to the DVLA things started moving quickly and I was pleased when, five days later, you received the amended logbook. But that wasn't the end of your saga because after checking the document you realised the DVLA had got two of the entries the wrong way around. I spoke again to the DVLA, which then corrected the mistake and sent you a third logbook, but this was a frustrating end to a sorry saga. • Read more money advice and tips on investing from our experts The DVLA said: 'We try to process applications to update or amend a V5C as quickly as possible, but sometimes further information may be required or further checks needed. We have apologised to the customer involved and an updated book has been issued.' You said: 'It is strange that the DVLA seem very efficient in sending out logbooks for change of ownership, but seem incapable of pushing through other amendments with any degree of urgency. Thank you so much for your efforts and support, which clearly broke the log-jam. I know our Ukrainian partners will be thrilled.' • £1,497,879 — the amount Your Money Matters has saved readers so far this year If you have a money problem you would like Katherine Denham to investigate email yourmoneymatters@ Please include a phone number
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
The predator that's set to clip the wings of Britain's growing green parakeet population
Britain's burgeoning parakeet population could soon have a new nemesis. There are tens of thousands of the green birds in the UK, according to estimates, but experts claim that they will soon come under threat from goshawks. The predators feed on pigeons, grey squirrels and rats, and conservationists say they will soon be targeting parakeets. Hazel Jackson, of the UK Centre for Hydrology and Ecology, said goshawks could possibly prey on parakeets, just as peregrine falcons do now. She said: 'We do know that peregrines in London are predating on parakeets, and so in theory, and given the growing quantity of parakeets, there is a chance goshawks might take advantage of them as another source of food.' Sightings of goshawks – which have a 5 ft wingspan and long talons – have increased on the edges of London in recent months, and experts say they will soon make their way to other British cities. The birds were virtually wiped out by the Victorians but escaped goshawks owned by falconers began to re-establish numbers from the beginning of the 1970s. Goshawks are now living in cities across Europe including Berlin, Amsterdam, Riga and Moscow. In the UK, there have been sightings in Sussex, Kent and Surrey, as well as on marshes on the edges of the River Thames in London. Conor Mark Jameson, author of Looking for the Goshawk, told The Mail on Sunday he expected them to appear in parks around cities including London, Bath, Southampton, Glasgow and Edinburgh within the next few years. 'In my lifetime this bird has come back from extinction in the UK and now goshawks could become a feature of British cities in a matter of a few years,' he added. 'It's recovering in some of the Home Counties – Sussex in particular, Surrey and Kent – and reports in and over London appear to be increasing. 'Slowly but surely they will work their way into suburbia. There is superabundant food in the form of pigeons of all kinds, ring-necked parakeets, corvids, grey squirrels and even rats and stout trees in which to nest in large gardens, hospital grounds, cemeteries and recreation areas.' Andy Evans, of the RSPB, said that 'with continued protections' goshawks may be as common a sight in London as they are in other cities across Europe.
The Sun
4 hours ago
- The Sun
Four ways to transform tins of fruit into quick desserts your family will love
FOR no-faff puds, always have tins of fruit in your cupboard. Costing from £1.20, these can transform into quick desserts that all the family will love. With strawberries, peaches, pears or pineapples, whip up these delicious dishes in just a few minutes . . . TOPSY-TURVY TREAT: Go retro with a pineapple upside-down cake. You will need sponge ingredients — self-raising flour, butter, sugar and eggs — a tin of pineapple rings, apricot jam and brown sugar. Both Morrisons and Tesco have recipes for the classic pud on their websites. TARTS FROM A TIN: You can make easy individual fruit tarts using a sheet of puff pastry and a couple of cans of peaches. Cut the pastry into smaller individual rectangles, scoring a line all the way around, a centimetre in from the edge, but don't cut all the way through. Brush with whisked egg and then add peach slices into the inner rectangle, adding in a teaspoon of butter, a teaspoon of brown sugar and a pinch of cinnamon. Bake in a hot oven for around 25 minutes and serve with whipped cream. READY IN A TRIFLE: For a tasty trifle, cover the bottom of a serving bowl in trifle sponges or sponge fingers. Pour over a tin of strawberries, peaches or fruit cocktail. Leave for half an hour until the sponges soak up the syrup. Spoon over a tin of custard. Finish with a topping of whipped cream or squirty cream. WHAT A PEAR: Make a delicious pudding in less than ten minutes using two cans of Del Monte pear halves in syrup. From cheese boards to chocolatey desserts – treats to supercharge your brain and prevent memory blips Drain the pears, putting the syrup to one side. Melt a tablespoon of butter in a frying pan. Add the pears and leave them to brown, without stirring, for around six minutes. Add the syrup, turn up the heat and cook for three minutes. Let the pears stand for five minutes and serve with cream, ice cream, pancakes or waffles. All prices on page correct at time of going to press. Deals and offers subject to availability 7 Deal of the day YOU won't have to dig too deep for this wooden sandpit with a canopy from The Range. It's down from £69.99 to £48.99. Cheap treat 7 GIVE yourself a glow-up with the Simple radiance-boost sheet mask, down from £3.99 to £2 at Superdrug. What's new? BUY one toy and get another half price at The Entertainer. The offer – on thousands of items – includes this Early Learning Centre car track, £15. Top swap 7 FILL a space in a lunchbox with Graze Lemon & Blueberry Oat Boost Flapjack Super-food Snack Bars, £2.75 for pack of four at Morrisons. Or Crownfield Lemon Blueberry Superfood Oat Bites from Lidl, are £1.25 for four. Shop & save GREAT for days out, get the Polar Gear dinosaur lunch bag from Argos, down from £9 to £6.75. Hot right now ENJOY meatless meals for less with a 300g bag of Quorn pieces, down from £2.60 to £1.30 at Iceland and The Food Warehouse. PLAY NOW TO WIN £200 JOIN thousands of readers taking part in The Sun Raffle. Every month we're giving away £100 to 250 lucky readers - whether you're saving up or just in need of some extra cash, The Sun could have you covered. Every Sun Savers code entered equals one Raffle ticket. The more codes you enter, the more tickets you'll earn and the more chance you will have of winning!
