Results from the first formal A-level exams held since 2019 have been published.
Here’s what we know…
1. Overall performance in England
The proportion of A* and A grades has dropped this year compared to 2021 (when teacher-assessed grades were used) from 44.3 per cent to 35.9 per cent. However, this is still way above the 25.2 per cent getting top grades in 2019.
For grade C and above, 82.1 per cent achieved this this year compared to 88.2 per cent in 2021 and 75.5 per cent in 2019.
However, the number of A-level students who achieved 3 A* grades has remained high at 8,570 but dropped a third from 2021 at 12,865. It’s still higher than 2020 – 7,775 – and much higher than 2019 – 2,785.
2. A-level grade distribution: 2019 to 2022
3. North-south divide widens
London has seen the sharpest rise in top grades since 2019 – rising 12.1 percentage points from 26.9 to 39 per cent. However, the north east has only seen a 7.8 percentage point increase from 23.0 to 30.8.
It is bound to raise questions about whether this was down to the pandemic, which hit some areas harder than others.
4. FE colleges see biggest drop in top grades
Ofqual data shows private students in FE establishments saw the biggest drop in top grades following the reintroduction of summer exams.
The proportion of candidates awarded an A and above in all subjects fell by 12.7 percentage points. Independent schools saw the next biggest drop – 12.4 percentage points.
Despite this, the proportion of top grades awarded was once again highest in private schools. This year, 58 per cent of grades issued to private school pupils were As or above, down from 70.4 per cent last year but up from 44.7 per cent in 2019.
In comparison, the proportion of top grades was 50.4 per cent in grammar schools, 45 per cent in free schools, 35 per cent in academies, 31.9 per cent in sixth form colleges and 30.7 per cent in comprehensive schools.
The lowest proportions of top grades were issued in secondary modern schools, which are non-selective schools in selective areas, at 27.8 per cent, tertiary colleges (27.5 per cent) and FE establishments (16.5 per cent).
5. Which subjects are gaining/losing popularity?
Across the UK, there has been no change to the top five most popular subjects. But some subjects have increased in popularity while others have fallen.
Design and technology saw the biggest increase in entries, up by 14.3 per cent this year, closely followed by computing (13.5 per cent), PE (11.4 per cent) and political studies (11 per cent).
English literature saw the biggest decrease, with entries falling by 9.4 per cent. It dropped out of the 10 most popular subjects for the first time, replaced by geography.
English language and literature entries dropped by 5.8 per cent and French fell by 5.4 per cent. Entries to further maths also dropped by 3.8 per cent.
6. Which subjects have the biggest gender gap in entries?
JCQ has published data on the differences between boys’ and girls’ A-level subject choices, which as ever makes for interesting reading.
Computing continues to have far more entries from boys, who make up more than eight in 10 entrants, while physics, further maths, ICT and design and technology are also much more popular among boys than girls.
At the other end of the scale, performing and expressive arts, English literature, sociology and art and design subjects had much higher entries from girls than boys.
As the first ever T Level graduates collect their results on level 3 results day, senior reporter Jason Noble went along to City College Norwich to find out how students fared in the inaugural – and pandemic-impacted – years…
When the T Level qualifications were first set up two years ago, one of the biggest selling points was the 45-day industry placement to help students get a foot in the door of their future industries.
And as buoyant students wander through the reception doors at City College Norwich to collect their results, the impact that work has had on their next steps becomes abundantly clear. Some of the graduates for the design, surveying and planning for constriction T Level – dressed in employer-branded polo shirts – can’t even hang around because they are heading straight off to work with the employers they did their placement with.
“The bit of paper and grade is important, but it is only a passport to the next stage of your life,” said new principal Jerry White, who served as deputy since 2013 before taking on the top job over the summer.
“When I see young people going off into brilliant degree apprenticeships, or great work, the doors have been opened by their placement as part of their T Level, or going off to universities with them being prepared to embrace T Levels, that is brilliant.”
Libby Smith, who passed her education and childcare T Level and is eyeing a career in teaching, added: “The experience has helped me a lot because I have not really done much around the school environment, but getting that practise in was really helpful because I have now got a part time job at Busy Bees [a local nursery] and that’s really boosted my confidence a lot working with children.”
Jerry White, principal at City College Norwich
Nationally, around 1,300 students signed up for the first three T Level courses two years ago – the aforementioned education and childcare and construction qualifications, as well as digital production, design and development – with just over 1,000 completing courses.
City College was among a handful to go for all three courses from the start. It had 70 students across the three qualifications, with nearly three quarters (73 per cent) achieving a merit or higher and 34 per cent getting a distinction.
Its overall pass rates were 94 per cent for construction, 96 per cent for education and childcare and 100 per cent for digital.
White said the college was keen to be a trailblazer for the new qualifications, and even now the leaders for the new T Levels which launched last year or will do this September are learning from the experiences of the first cohort.
“We supported the vision for T Levels which was around challenging the dominance to A-levels, and trying to bring a parity of esteem to technical and vocational education,” White said.
“The T Level does offer us the ability to have a conversation with a parent, a school, a young person , that says you have got a real choice and they are both really well recognised.
“We thought that by being at the forefront of that we would firstly be able to help shape how they developed, and perhaps add something to that, and secondly we felt that for a large general further education college like this, the implications of T Levels for when they are all rolled out it’s worth getting in early and understanding how to do them well.”
Given the natural feet-finding with new courses coupled with the disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic, it hasn’t been without issues.
Some more clarity between the colleges and awarding bodies on assessments is one area for development, White says, after some confusion with the final digital exams.
Elsewhere, second year construction students faced teaching disruption in the first term when two of the course delivery staff left, resulting in some students saying they had more of an onus on their own learning and a greater reliance on the industry placements during that time.
Going forward, more employers will need to be recruited to fulfil the placements, but staffing may also be a barrier under the current funding arrangements where more competitive salaries can be offered in their industries of expertise or higher education.
City College Norwich T level graduates Libby Smith, Josh Demark, and Brad Reese
“It could quickly become the limiting factor on what T Level colleges can offer,” White said. “We may find we can’t meet the demand for T Levels from students because we haven’t got and cannot retain the highly qualified industry experts to deliver the courses.”
Their future destinations appear to be a wide mix of university courses, apprenticeships, further study or employment, depending on career preferences and modes of study.
“The course as a whole was a pretty decent course considering you get an industry placement, which is now leading to the fact that I get a contract on Monday. It opened a lot of doors within one industry, I am ready for a career in construction and the T Level has allowed me to move forward,” said Brad Reese a construction graduate.
Fellow course-mate Josh Demark added: “I think it is the way forward. I have got a route into industry that doesn’t involve university, which I am quite glad about.”
Anxious BTEC students have been left in limbo after receiving blank results slips from their colleges this morning.
Essential final results needed to confirm university places and next steps should have been confirmed to students hours ago alongside results for other level 3 qualifications like A-levels and T Levels.
Pearson, the awarding body for BTECs, has been bombarded by worried BTEC students and their parents over the course of the day.
FE Week has received numerous reports from students and parents that received blank overall grade sections on their results slips.
Blank BTEC results slip received by a student
One student told FE Week that they have even been trying to get a place through clearing as their UCAS status is still “awaiting confirmation” and they are worried that the admin blunder could lose them a place at university altogether. However without their final grade confirmed by the awarding body, they were advised by a clearing adviser that nothing could be done.
One college with affected students has published a statement explaining the situation.
Manchester principal defends students
The Manchester College said: “There has been a delay in receiving some of the BTEC National results from the awarding body, Pearson. This means that some students who say their BTEC exams in June and July this year will not have received their results this morning as originally scheduled.”
Principal Lisa O’Loughlin stated: “Our students have worked so hard over the last few years, in challenging circumstances and do not deserve to be facing this lack of clarity and uncertainty during what is already an anxious time.”
A spokesperson for Pearson told FE Week it has “awarded grades today to hundreds of thousands of BTEC students” but it is aware of “a very small percentage of BTEC students are experiencing a delay in receiving their results”, going on to appear to lay the blame at schools and colleges.
“BTECs are a modular qualification and in order for us to award an overall grade, we require unit grades to be provided for each module studied. Where unit information is missing, we are working closely with schools and colleges to resolve this and provide any outstanding results as soon as we can.”
Pressure mounts as Pearson process results ‘by the hour’
Pearson has refused to share the exact number of students affected, though tells us that results are being sent to students “by the hour”.
“We urge any student waiting for their results to please call us on 0345 618 0440 where our team is standing by to help. If you have a UCAS application the advice is to speak directly to your university first (or we can contact your university for you) and encourage them to follow UCAS advisory guidelines to hold offers until 7 September,” a spokesperson said.
There is a growing number of calls for a full investigation in to what’s happened from students, politicians and sector leaders.
In a letter sent to Pearson’s senior vice president for qualifications, Freya Thomas Monk, the Association of Colleges (AoC) has asked Pearson to be “open and clear about how many students have had and still have delayed results … to allow everyone to understand the scale of problem”.
David Hughes, the AoC’s chief executive, also calls for an open investigation to find out how so many students’ results have been delayed to “ensure this cannot happen again”.
Several politicians, including Labour’s shadow minister for further education and skills Toby Perkins, have taken the case to the education secretary.
In his letter to James Cleverly, Perkins says he is concerned that students haven’t been given a timescale to expect to see their confirmed final results. He also calls for “a full investigation in to what has happened and how such issues can be prevented from happening in the future”.
As well as calling for an investigation, the Sheffield Hallam MP Olivia Blake has called on Cleverly to “put measures in place to mitigate any detrimental impacts to the students affected”.
An Oxfordshire parent tweeted about her experience at Abingdon and Witney College this morning, where her daughter was one of several students that wasn’t provided with their final grade and so can’t confirm their place at university.
“Still no news despite contacting Pearson direct, and Abingdon College who say they are chasing Pearson. This is absolutely crazy,” she wrote.
Abingdon and Whitney College principal Jacqui Canton apologised for the delay and said students should have been emailed their results this afternoon.
“Unfortunately, a small number of BTEC students received an incomplete results slip this morning but were emailed their full results this afternoon. We are sorry for the slight delay in being able to provide their full results and for any worry that this has caused but we are confident that everything is now resolved. If any students have outstanding queries they should contact the college exams team as soon as possible and we will provide any support that we can,” Canton told FE Week.
“Absolute joke or a results day for the BTEC kids. Six hours and still don’t my son’s results. Shambles,” a parent in Lancashire tweeted.
Another distressed student told FE Week they were cut off while on hold with Pearson.
And another student, also with a place at university at risk, told us that their university simply cannot accept their results without the overall grade – which was missing from their results slip – and told them to “hope for the best”.
Pearson is asking those affected to contact them on 0345 618 0440 and say they can contact universities on behalf of affected students to ask that they hold places until results can be released.
But Pearson is not alone in taking steps today to remedy delays to results.
Fellow awarding giant OCR has said students still waiting for results of its Cambridge Technicals qualifications will be regularly updated on the situation.
“While most results were delivered on time, we are sorry for a delay in issuing Cambridge Technicals for some students,” an OCR spokesperson said.
“In these exceptional cases, we are working with schools and colleges to deliver results as soon as possible and to keep UCAS informed where results are needed for university offers. We will provide regular updates to those affected”.
Exams regulator Ofqual said it is “monitoring Pearson and OCR to ensure they are taking all necessary steps to work with any affected schools and colleges to resolve these issues as soon as possible”.
A spokesperson added: “Where an exam board fails to issue results to students and the board is ultimately found to be at fault, we could choose to take regulatory action.”
Pearson’s public statement in full (via Twitter at 9.07pm on results day)
“We are aware that a very small percentage of BTEC students didn’t receive their results today. We’re working closely with your school or college to deliver your results to both you and the university you’ve applied for.
“If you’d like us to contact the university to let them know, we’ll be pleased to do so. We’re doing everything we can to ensure that you receive your result as soon as possible.
“For further support, please contact us on 0345 618 0440 (from 08.30am-6.00pm), or DM us via @PearsonBTEC on social media, or via our online portal for further support.”
The vast majority of young people who wanted to attend university now can – after that there are some tricky questions, writes Tom Richmond
Although A-level results day is always a special moment across thousands of schools and colleges, we should remember that today is particularly special for the young people who took their exams this year.
After their GCSEs were abandoned in 2020 due to COVID, many of this year’s students have faced the ever-daunting challenge of high stakes examinations for the first time.
That is a noteworthy achievement, even before their grades were awarded.
After two years of eye-watering grade inflation, especially in the proportion of top grades awarded in 2020 and 2021, the exam regulator Ofqual decided in advance that 2022 was going to be a halfway house.
This year results would be graded somewhere between the entirely unrepresentative grades in 2021 and the grades achieved in the last set of normal exams back in 2019.
The proportion of A or A* grades fell from 44 per cent in 2021 to 36 per cent this year, with another step down needed in 2023 to get back to something like the 25 per cent achieved in 2019.
Similarly, the proportion of A* grades fell from 19 per cent in 2021 to 15 per cent this year, although a big drop is required next summer to return to eight per cent of grades being an A* as in 2019.
Inevitably, the sharp rise in top grades at private schools attracted a lot of attention last year, with their proportion of A/A*s leaping from 45 per cent in 2019 to 70 per cent in 2021.
In 2022, this process has inevitably gone into reverse as the grade distribution across all schools and colleges begins to return to normality, with 58 per cent of private school pupils achieving A/A*s this year.
FE colleges have also experienced a noticeable drop in A/A*s, from 29 per cent last year to 17 per cent in 2022.
That said, this drop means there is only a small adjustment needed in 2023 to bring them back into line with the 13 per cent of A/A*s achieved in 2019.
Other institutions such as grammar schools and private schools have much further to fall in 2023.
So has this year been fair on students, with fewer top grades available than last year?
I would point to the absurdity of last year’s grades for any ‘fairness’ concerns rather than Ofqual’s reasonably sensible solution
I would point to the absurdity of last year’s grades as being the source of any ‘fairness’ concerns rather than Ofqual’s reasonably sensible solution implemented this year.
On that basis we should be comfortable with the grades achieved in 2022 – not least because this year’s students did not suffer the extent of school and colleges closures experienced by the previous two exam cohorts.
There were inevitably question marks about how universities would react this summer to falling top grades after last year’s spike.
From the data released by UCAS, it appears that any such fears were misplaced.
Some 374,580 applicants have been accepted onto their first-choice university degree, which is admittedly 20,000 fewer than the 395,770 in 2020.
But it is nothing like the scale of disaster that some commentators were predicting.
Similarly, the number of students accepted onto either their first or second choice degree is the second highest on record at 425,830 – only two per cent lower than 2021.
We can therefore say with some confidence that despite Ofqual bringing down the proportion of top grades this year relative to 2021, the vast majority of young people who wanted to attend university will be able to do so.
Needless to say, our A-level system is not out of the woods yet as we emerge from the pandemic.
If Ofqual do indeed bring the proportion of top grades back to 2019 levels in the summer of 2023, they will have to cut the proportion of A* grades in half in one go.
As ever, do not underestimate the politics of grade inflation – both as grades go up, and as grades go down.
But that’s for another day. For now, let’s just enjoy the achievements of so many young people.
The data shows that 7.4 per cent (76 students) “partially achieved” at least one component of their T Level but not yet all three. These students will receive a “statement of achievement” listing the components and grades they have achieved, but it will not include an overall grade. The government said it will still have “value to employers, higher education providers and others”.
The remaining 0.4 per cent (four students) have been marked as “unclassified” because they have attempted at least one at least one component but not yet achieved any.
So as of today, there are 949 people with a T Level.
Digital was the toughest subject
The first T Levels were available from September 2020 in three subjects: education and childcare; design, surveying and planning for construction; and digital production, design and development.
Today’s data shows that 89.7 per cent of the 340 students on the digital pathway passed, compared to 93.4 per cent of the 482 learners on education and childcare, and 93.7 per cent of the 207 students on construction.
The proportion receiving top grades – Distinction or Distinction* – in digital was 25.9 per cent, compared to 35.8 per cent for construction and 40.2 per cent for education and childcare.
Uneven gender split
Of the 1,029 T Level students receiving results, 523 were women and 506 were men. But the figures show participation was skewed by gender stereotypes.
A huge 97 per cent of education and childcare students were women, while men made up 90 per cent and 89 per cent of construction and digital T Level learners respectively.
Overall, across all three subjects, 93.5 per cent of women achieved at least a Pass compared to 90.9 per cent for men.
Women also out-performed men in achieving the top grades, with 41.1 per cent of women getting a Distinction* or Distinction compared to 27.9 per cent of men.
6% didn’t complete an industry placement
A 45-day industry placement must be completed by each student in order to achieve a T Level. This first cohort of students were, however, allowed to spend up to 40 per cent of their placement hours remotely after the Department for Education temporarily watered down the policy to reflect the impact of Covid-19.
Today’s data shows that 62, or 6 per cent, of the 1,029 T Level students did not complete an industry placement.
Construction had the highest rate of industry placement completion at 94.2 per cent, followed closely by education and childcare at 94 per cent. In digital, 93.8 per cent of students completed an industry placement.
Women in digital had the highest rates of industry placement non-completion, 8.3 per cent, but it is worth noting that only 33 of the 304 digital T Level students were women.
There was a 100 per cent completion rate for women that passed the T Level in construction, however this only amounted to 20 students.
A fifth appear to have dropped out
The Department for Education previously said that around 1,300 students started a T Level in autumn 2020.
But today’s data shows that 1,029 students received T Level results – suggesting that a fifth dropped out.
The DfE refused to share the exact drop-out figure.
Over a quarter that applied for uni got rejected
UCAS said 370 students have been accepted onto a university course following their results. This is 71 per cent of all T Level learners that applied for a higher education place, however.
It means that more than a third (36 per cent) of the T Level students receiving results today will be going to university.
The proportion of top A-level results achieved by students in England has dropped 19 per cent after the first summer exams in three years, but remains much higher than in 2019.
Today’s data shows 35.9 per cent of grades handed out this year were A* or A grades, down from 44.3 per cent in 2021 and 38.1 per cent in 2020 – when teachers decided grades.
But top grades are still up on 2019 results (25.2 per cent) – the last year summer exams were held.
The proportion of grades at C and above fell to 82.1 per cent from 88.2 per cent in 2021 and 87.5 per cent in 2020, but again, this was higher than in 2019, when 75.5 per cent of grades were at that level.
Students receiving three A* grades fell to 8,570, down from 12,865 in 2021.
However, this still remained higher than the 7,775 seen in 2020, and more than triple the 2,785 students who reached that benchmark in 2019.
The Joint Council for Qualifications has published the results from the first summer A-level exams since the pandemic began. Students were awarded centre-assessed grades in 2020 and teacher-assessed grades in 2021 because of Covid disruption.
Grades ‘broadly midway’ between 2021 and 2019
The drop in top grades was expected. Exams watchdog Ofqual instructed exam boards to peg the results in between those received in 2019 when formal exams last happened and 2021, which saw by far the highest top grades on record.
Exam boards are publishing grade boundaries today, which are generally lower this summer in 2019. However, Ofqual says not all grades boundaries are lower since “position of the boundaries also reflects the difficulty of the assessment”.
Dr Jo Saxton, chief regulator, said the class of 2022 “can be so proud of what they have achieved”.
“I felt strongly that it would not have been right to go straight back to pre-pandemic grading in one go but accept that we do need to continue to take steps back to normality.
“These results overall, coming as they do broadly midway between 2021 and 2019, represent a staging post on that journey.”
Ofqual is aiming to confirm grading plans for 2023 summer exams in September.
Private schools and London students fare best once again
The proportion of top grades awarded was once again highest in private schools. This year, 58 per cent of grades issued to private school pupils were As or above, compared to 35 per cent in academies, and 30.7 per cent in comprehensive schools.
As was the case last year, students in London fared the best in the exams, with 39 per cent of grades at A* to A, compared to 30.8 per cent in the north east.
London also enjoyed the greatest rise in top grades between 2019 and 2022. Over the three years, the proportion of A* and A grades rose by 12.1 percentage points in the capital, compared to 7.8 percentage points in the north east.
This will likely prompt questions about the uneven regional impact of the pandemic on students during the last two years.
However we will have to wait until the autumn to see how other different groups of students, such as those on free school meals, fared.
This is because Ofqual has had less time to analyse the results than in the last two years, when grades were submitted earlier.
Today’s data also shows the gender gap in top grades has widened since 2019 across the United Kingdom.
This year, 14.8 per cent of grades issued to females were A*s, compared to 14.4 per cent of grades issued to males. This contrasts to 2019 when males’ outcomes were higher.
The proportion of A* to A grades issued to females was 37.4 per cent, compared to 35.2 per cent for males, whereas outcomes were the same in 2019.
Don’t ‘fixate’ on grades, says leader
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the ASCL school leaders’ union, congratulated those receiving results.
“To say they deserve great credit is an understatement given the context of a global pandemic which has caused huge disruption to their studies over the past two-and-a-half years.”
However, he warned it was “likely that results at the level of schools, colleges, and students will be uneven because of the highly variable impact of the pandemic with those affected more by infections potentially faring less well than others”.
“Adaptations were made to exams to try to mitigate this impact in as far as that is possible but this is not a normal year by any measure and it is important that we focus on supporting the progression of students rather than fixating too much on grades.”
More than a third of students have achieved top grades in the first ever set of T Level results – but digital has proven to be the most difficult subject.
Overall, 34.6 per cent of the 1,029 T Level students receiving results today were awarded a Distinction or Distinction*. The overall pass rate was 92.2 per cent.
The 482 students on the education and childcare pathway performed the best as 40.2 per cent achieved top grades and a 93.4 per cent pass rate. The proportion of the 207 students on the design, surveying and planning for construction T Level scoring top grades was 35.8 per cent as 93.7 per cent passed.
But only 25.9 per cent of the 340 students on the digital production, design and development T Level got top grades as 89.7 per cent passed.
T Level results in full
Today’s data shows that 10 per cent of digital students did not complete the full T Level and only partially achieved. A “partial achievement” means they completed at least one component of the course – core, occupational specialism or industry placement – but didn’t achieve all three.
In construction, 5.3 per cent of students only partially achieved and in education and childcare, that figure wa 6.4 per cent.
Sector leaders suspected that digital would prove to be the toughest subject to achieve in especially for students in rural areas, largely because of the challenge of finding employers to take them on for the mandatory 45-day work placement.
This cohort of T Level students were allowed to spend up to 40 per cent of their placement hours remotely after the Department for Education temporarily watered down the policy to reflect the impact of Covid-19. Today’s data shows that 94 per cent of all T Level students completed an industry placement.
T Levels are the government’s flagship new post-16 qualifications, designed to be the technical equivalent to A-levels.
The two-year courses launched for the first time in September 2020 in three subjects: education and childcare; design, surveying and planning for construction; and digital production, design and development.
They have been delivered by 44 colleges and schools.
The first T Level students received a one-off grading adjustment to reflect the impact of Covid, the government said yesterday. Awarding organisations were asked to be “generous” in their awards in line with the approach being taken for A-levels in the first year that exams have been sat since the pandemic.
The DfE previously said that around 1,300 students began the qualifications two years ago, but today’s shows that only 1,029 have received results. FE Week has asked the DfE to confirm whether this means that a fifth dropped out.
Education secretary James Cleverly said: “Today is a really exciting time for our pioneering T Level students, as the first ever group to take this qualification will pick up their results. I have no doubt they will be the first of many and embark on successful careers.”
Two awarding organisations were chosen to design and award the first three T Levels: NCFE took on education and childcare, while Pearson was responsible for digital and construction.
Zac Aldridge, director of qualifications and assessment at NCFE, said: “This is a hugely important day that signifies years of hard work from across the sector and government to strengthen the options available to young people and tackle the widening skills gap.
“We’ve seen first-hand just how much students – and employers – can gain from T Levels, and we’re incredibly proud of this first cohort as they receive their results, particularly given the challenges posed by the pandemic. A huge congratulations, too, to the teachers, providers and businesses for their hard work in bringing these qualifications to life.”
Disadvantaged students are more likely to see their grades adversely affected by the Covid pandemic, but expecting the exams system alone to eradicate these inequalities is unrealistic, write Dr Michelle Meadows and Professor Jo-Anne Baird.
Tomorrow’s A-level, AS, BTEC and T-level results represent students’ achievements in a system that is returning to normal. Examinations have never been so popular as when they were not available during the pandemic and they are back in most subjects this year.
This year the assessments have had some adaptations, such as forewarning of topics that would be covered, or changing practical activities in science.
Students taking this year’s exams have been studying for the courses over the pandemic and their final year of GCSE study was affected too.
The adaptations and this year’s grading are designed to recognise the challenges that students have faced.
The impact of the pandemic on educational opportunities has been complex. Even some young people from relatively well-off backgrounds will have been hard hit and will have had to work exceptionally hard to catch-up.
For example, parents such as medics and teachers may not have been able to give their children support because they were working flat out.
That said, even with the additional support in place, on average the performance of students from disadvantaged backgrounds will be impacted more than other students.
Learning loss is greater for poorer students
Research has shown that the impact of the pandemic on learning loss has been greater for disadvantaged students, such as those receiving free school meals.
We know that young people from economically disadvantaged families, single-parent households and with less educated parents spent less time learning than their advantaged peers.
Those with SEND had a great deal of trouble accessing the equipment and support they needed to engage with education.
And then of course there was the issue of digital poverty. No wonder commentators are sceptical about the impact of England’s national tutoring programme.
There is no evidence that the adaptations or this year’s grading policy will eradicate inequalities. After all, that would be an unrealistic expectation of the qualification system.
For the past two years, teacher assessment bailed the qualification system out, so that young people could progress to the next stage of their education or employment.
Grades from teacher assessment are well known to be higher than from examinations, almost universally, wherever they are used. Returning to pre-pandemic standards was never going to be easy.
Grades issued over this period need to be interpreted in the context in which the qualifications were taken.
Rather than reverting to 2019 standards in one fell swoop, there has been a transition, with the 2022 standards representing a mid-way point between 2021 and 2019 outcomes.
This is a sensible policy; an immediate return to 2019 standards would have been highly disruptive at a time when stability is sorely required.
Likewise, a whole new set of standards through wholesale qualification reform would take time and requires a level of resourcing that is not available in the education system presently.
‘Don’t feel dismayed by comparisons with last year’
Teachers, lecturers and school and college leaders analysing the results should not feel dismayed by comparisons with last year.
Instead, a more sensible comparison to make would be with 2019 results, or better still, with an average of 2021 and 2019 results.
But schools and colleges typically have small numbers of learners entering for each subject and results can be volatile with small numbers of students.
Now more than ever, university admissions tutors should take account of the context in which the grades were gained, to appreciate applicants’ capabilities in the face of varying levels of educational support.
The pandemic has shone a light on, as well as exacerbated educational inequality. Reviews of the qualification systems in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have started and calls for reforms in England are being made.
Addressing issues of inclusion, diversity and equality are consistent themes. Whilst qualification reform is a necessary element to impact on these issues, it will not be enough in itself.
‘We must overcome educational barriers’
Privileged groups are able to turn systems to their advantage wherever there are levers that can be used, so closing attainment gaps has to go beyond qualification design to the underlying causes of differences in attainment – to the educational barriers and opportunities themselves.
Qualification reform for A-levels is surely necessary in the next few years of pandemic recovery, since it was last undertaken wholesale in 2010.
A static qualification system does not spell high quality. However, reforms will need to be accompanied by good teacher supply, professional development and appropriate funding for schools and colleges.
The economy of the future involves changing careers for young people, so we need a qualification system that allows for second chances, for changing trajectory and that engages with issues of local, national and international skills needs.
A healthy choice of vocational qualifications also needs to form part of that mix.
Dr Michelle Meadows was Ofqual’s deputy chief regulator and executive director for strategy, risk and research until September 2021. She is now associate professor in the Department of Education at the University of Oxford.
Dr Jo-Anne Baird sits on the Ofqual standards advisory group and is a commissioner for the Independent Assessment Commission. She is director of the Department of Education at Oxford.
The first T Level students will receive a one-off grading adjustment in tomorrow’s results to reflect the impact of Covid.
Awarding organisations have been asked to be “generous” in their awards to the 1,000-odd T Level learners – like the approach being taken for A-levels in the first year that exams have been sat since the pandemic.
T Level students will receive an overall Pass, Merit, Distinction or Distinction*, which is derived from the grades they achieved on the core and the occupational specialism components – those assessed by exams – of the qualification.
A student must also complete the mandatory 45-day industry placement to achieve their T Level – although this requirement has been watered down and allowed to be partially completed virtually to reflect Covid related barriers faced by employers.
The Department for Education told FE Week that senior examiners reviewed the quality of student work for the occupational specialism and the core over a range of marks, before recommending grade boundaries based on all of the available evidence. Awarding organisations were then responsible for setting grade boundaries, overseen by Ofqual.
Grade boundaries will not be released until results are published tomorrow morning.
The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education, which is responsible for the technical qualification element of T Levels, said it agreed with exams regulator Ofqual to “take into account the impact of the pandemic before awarding took place – not in response to having seen any grades”.
“This was to keep T Levels in line with the approach taken by DfE for A Levels. The aim was to help ensure that T Level students were not disadvantaged,” a spokesperson added.
T Levels are the government’s flagship new post-16 qualifications, designed to be the technical equivalent of A-levels.
Tomorrow’s results will be for the first wave of T Level subjects, started in September 2020: education and childcare awarded by NCFE; design, surveying and planning for construction; and digital production, design and development awarded by Pearson.
The DfE previously said that around 1,300 students began the qualifications two years ago, but this week said that only around 1,000 will receive their results tomorrow.
It is unclear what level of detail will be published.
Students who have met all of the requirements of their T Level will receive a certificate with their overall grade and component grades. But students who have not met all of the requirements will receive a “statement of achievement” listing the components and grades they have achieved. It will not include an overall grade but the government said it will still have “value to employers, higher education providers and others”.
T Level results will be published alongside A-level and other vocational and technical qualification results tomorrow morning at 9.30am.
