DfE blog
It’s vitally important that when young people have worked hard to
get qualifications like GCSEs, A Levels, T Levels and vocational
and technical qualifications (VTQs) like BTECs, the grades they
receive reflect what they know, understand and can do.
If that’s not the case then qualifications lose their worth and
universities, other educational institutions and employers won’t
take them seriously. That’s why the exams regulator Ofqual has
said it wants to return to results that are in line with
pre-pandemic grading, but not in one go. This year’s grades will
be part way between summer 2019 and summer 2021.
Because exams couldn't go ahead, grades in summer 2020 and 2021
were based on a different form of assessment.
But with a return to exams this year, here we explain how the
grading system worked the last time exams were sat, how it worked
when exams weren’t taken and how we’re moving back to the system
in place before the pandemic.
How did grading work before the pandemic?
In a normal exam year, Ofqual and awarding organisations use a
combination of tools when setting grade boundaries in GCSEs, AS
and A levels, and other qualifications.
In all qualifications, awarding organisations use a range of
evidence including, data on how students have performed in
exams/assessments this year and previous years, and an expert
examiner's review of the quality of a student's work.
In GCSE and A levels, exam boards use data from Key Stage 2 tests
and GCSEs. This is to align standards across exam boards in a
subject, so it’s no easier to get a grade with one board than
another. But other sources of evidence are used where they are
available.
In GCSE English language and maths, Ofqual also has evidence from
the National Reference Test (NRT). The NRT is taken every year by
a sample of year 11 students, a few months before GCSEs, to
provide an objective measure of year 11 attainment in English and
maths.
VTQs are designed with different structures and purposes, and so
the way students are assessed is more diverse than for GCSEs, AS
and A levels.
During the pandemic, students were not able to take exams safely
or fairly. This meant they were assessed through a
different system.
Last year, teacher-assessed grades were awarded using evidence
collected through a range of assessments. Results were based on
grades determined by teachers using guidance and frameworks from
Ofqual and the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ). Teachers
worked hard to make sure their judgements were a fair reflection
of students’ performance.
How is grading working this year?
This year, as in any normal year in which exams take place,
grades have been set using a combination of examiner judgement
and data.
However, to reflect the disruption that this year’s students have
been through, Ofqual asked awarding organisations to be generous
when setting grade boundaries, and to aim for a midpoint between
2019 and 2021. Grading for VTQs will reflect a similar level of
generosity this year.
Crucially, senior examiners have reviewed the work in all
qualifications to make sure that grades continue to have meaning
and value.
T levels launched in 2020 and the first students will receive
their T level results this year. T levels involve a wide range of
written assessments and practical assessments.
Ofqual and the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical
Education (IfATE) asked T Level awarding organisations to
recognise the effects of the pandemic in the grading. This was
for the Core and Occupational Specialism components of T Levels –
those assessed by exams – this summer. This is in line with the
approach taken in other qualifications such as A levels,
reflecting the fact that these are new qualifications, and the
disruption caused by the pandemic.
Employers have also been involved in ensuring that the resulting
standards meet their expectations.
What about grading in 2023?
Ofqual has said it is aiming to return to results that are in
line with pre-pandemic grading in 2023.
