Thursday 15 August is results day for AS, A level, T Levels and a range of vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs) taken in subjects such as engineering and health and social care.
Marking and grading have taken place as normal this year. Grades are determined solely by students’ performance in their assessments, and reflect what students know, understand and can do. Students’ grades will help them make choices about their future and progress to the next stage of their lives.
We’d like to recognise the hard work of all those involved throughout the academic year and the exam series itself – teachers, exams officers, invigilators, markers and moderators, and of course, the students themselves.
Here are a few reminders about marking, grading and results this summer:
-
- Once exams are over, students’ exam papers are sent to the relevant awarding organisation. Many papers are marked on-screen and broken down into questions, so each student’s script can be marked by several different markers. This supports students being treated as consistently as possible. Non-exam assessments can be marked by expert examiners or marked by teachers and checked by awarding organisation moderators.
- Exam marking is anonymous and carried out by experts. Exam markers don’t know a student’s name, the school or college they go to or where they live. Most markers for AS and A levels are teachers or ex-teachers, with an average of 20 years’ teaching experience and 10 years’ examining experience. Markers for VTQs are experts in their field and are from a variety of backgrounds, including teaching.
- For external assessments, grade boundaries are set after students have taken the assessments and once marking is nearly complete. Senior examiners recommend grade boundaries for external assessments based on a range of judgemental and technical evidence, including reviewing the quality of students’ work. For VTQs, some assessments are not marked and are graded using pre-set criteria.
- Grade boundaries typically change each year to reflect any differences in the difficulty of the assessments. If a question paper is easier, the grade boundaries will be higher; if a question paper is more difficult, the grade boundaries will be lower. This summer is no different, meaning that grade boundaries might be higher or lower than in previous years.
- Overall A level results are expected to be broadly similar to last summer. It’s normal for national results – and results for individual subjects – to vary a little each year due to changes in the cohort of students taking particular qualifications, and based on how students perform in their assessments.
- This summer is the third year that students will be receiving T Level results. T Levels are being phased in, and the number and range of qualifications has increased again this summer. The number of students entering T Levels is also increasing. This means that it is not meaningful to directly compare results from one year to the next.
- Technical Qualifications (within T Levels) have been graded generously in the first years of awards because they are new qualifications. When new qualifications are introduced, students and teachers are less familiar with the requirements of the assessments. That’s why we’ve asked awarding organisations to be generous in the first years of awards when awarding the Technical Qualifications (within T Levels).
- When students receive their results, there is lots of support and advice available on next steps. Students can call the National Careers Service on 0800 100 900 to chat to a careers adviser for help or advice about their results or their next steps.
- Ofqual’s interactive visualisations will be updated on results day. Our analytics allow users to explore results information for A levels, T Levels and VTQs. Users can explore the data depending on their own interests and needs.
Rachel Taylor
Associate Director Standards & Technical Issues, Ofqual