Ofqual says students will receive fewer top grades in 2022

Students will receive fewer high grades than this year’s GCSE and A-level pupils but will receive advance notice of some exam topics in February Ofqual has announced today.

The grade boundaries for 2022 exams will be set midway between 2019 and 2021’s record-high results after exams were cancelled for the second year running and replaced with teacher assessments.

The government says it expects grades to return to pre-pandemic levels for pupils sitting exams in 2023, who are now at the start of their GCSE and A-level courses.

The Sutton Trust reported in July that two-thirds of students felt they had fallen behind due to the pandemic’s disruption.

The exams watchdog also published plans for the use of teacher-assessed grades if pandemic restrictions once again prompt the cancellation of exams in 2022.

The education secretary, Nadhim Zahawi, said: “We’ve put fairness at the heart of our approach and listened to pupils, teachers and parents. The measures we’re putting in place will help reduce the impact of the significant disruption this group of young people have had to face – allowing them to move on to the next stage of their lives.

“We are committed to rigorous standards being fairly applied, and exams are the fairest way to assess students, which is why they will take place next year.”

Ofqual’s chief regulator, Dr Jo Saxton, added: “Our grading approach will recognise the disruption experienced by students taking exams in 2022. It will provide a safety net for those who might otherwise just miss out on a higher grade while taking a step back to normal. Choice in some subjects and advance information to support revision are intended to provide support for all as we emerge from the pandemic.”

Dr Mary Bousted, the joint general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), criticised the lateness of the announcement, adding: “Only giving advanced information about the exams in time for revision will result in a ‘topic lottery’ where some students will have happened to have covered the topics on the exam in sufficient depth and others may well have not.”

Paul Whiteman, the general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “Whatever decision was made about the approach to grading in 2022, it would be open to criticism by some. The most important thing is that this decision has been made and everyone involved now knows what to expect.”