Now that the dust is settling somewhat on this year’s GCSE and A-Level awarding process we have a final set of results – newly in the case of GCSEs; in replacement of results awarded last week in the case of A-Levels.

So what do they show?

GCSEs

Overall, GCSE results are up sharply – 78.8% of entries received a grade 4 or above this year, compared to 69.9% last year. (The figures we’re reporting here are for 16-year-olds in England.)

At grade 7 or above, there was a jump from 21.9% to 27.6%.

The charts below shows how things have changed in every subject.

The overall change masks considerable variation between subjects.

Results in some large-entry subjects – English literature and maths, for example – have increased by slightly more modest amounts.

Much larger increases have been recorded in some other subjects though, as the chart below shows. (Some, though not all, of these are smaller entry subjects – computing, design and technology, business studies and PE all have decent numbers of entries.)

You’ll note that results increased by the smallest amounts at the grade 4 or above threshold in the single sciences. That’s due to the single sciences typically being entered by higher-attaining pupils – the average grade in each of biology, chemistry and physics was already around the grade 6 mark last year, so there’ll be relatively few pupils receiving a grade 4 this year who wouldn’t have done so last year.

Ofqual has also confirmed that a planned (small) uplift was made in the mix of grades that its standardisation process came up with in French and German, fulfilling a commitment that it had made previously, to bring grading closer in line with GCSE Spanish. While many students will have received their centre assessment grade as opposed to a grade generated by the standardisation process, this will have helped some pupils.

The regulator has also this morning reported the results of the National Reference Test – conducted before the coronavirus crisis shut schools. This led Ofqual to conclude that standards in maths had improved versus the 2017 baseline – and as such, the mix of grades generated by its standardisation process was raised slightly. Again, the fact that pupils have ended up being awarded the higher of their centre assessment grade and their algorithmically-generated grade means this may well have had quite limited effect in practice, but some pupils will have benefited.

We’ll update this post with more details as the day goes on.

A-Levels

A-Level results are also up – and to a greater extent, if anything.

At the grade C or above threshold, results are up from 75.5% to 87.5% across all subjects. At grades A*-A, there was an increase from 25.2% to 38.1%. (Figures here are for students of all ages in England.)

The charts below shows how things have changed in every subject.

At the top end of the grade distribution, small entry subjects still seem to have come out favourably – with languages and music recording some of the biggest increases in results (as they did when the first iteration of A-Level results came out last Thursday), as the chart below shows

We can also look at how today’s results differ to last week’s, when students were given out A-Level results that leant heavily on the standardisation algorithm. This gives an indication of how much change has been introduced by using centre assessment grades in place of those calculated by the Ofqual model.

As we would have expected, those subjects with typically small numbers of entrants at each centre, such as German and music, have seen results increase the least following the change in approach. This is due to a higher proportion of centre assessment grades already being included in the results handed out last week in these subjects.

We’ll update this post with more findings as the day goes on.

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