A levels: ‘Harsh’ to claim private schools fiddled grades

Claims that independent schools inflated teacher-assessed grades (TAGs) more than state schools and colleges are “harsh”, according to research published today.

In 2021, when TAGs replaced exams for the second year in a row, A* grades rose by three times more at private schools than at state schools.

This led to the Commons Education Select Committee chair Robert Halfon MP and shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson both calling for an investigation.

An FFT analysis last year said the data seemed to suggest that, in 2020 and 2021, independent schools “gave out more generous grades than might be expected”.

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However, today’s analysis says that the extent of the hike in grades depends on the method used to calculate it.

Looking at the difference in the A*/A grades awarded between 2021 - based on TAGs - and 2022 - based on exams - shows independent schools saw a decline of 12.4 percentage points, more than state secondary schools.
 

But, looking instead at the “relative risk” of getting an A*/A grade in 2021 compared with 2022 shows independent schools are “somewhat middle of the road”, the research finds.

The relative risk looks at the increase or decrease in the possibility of achieving the top grades.

This analysis shows that students at independent schools were around 20 per cent more likely to receive an A*/A grade in 2021 than in 2022, but this was around the same for academies, comprehensive schools and secondary moderns.
 

Meanwhile, FFT found it was further education and “other” centres where the relative change had been “greatest” and students were nearly 80 per cent more likely to receive an A*/A grade last year than in 2022.

Writing for FFT today on the accusations faced by independent schools that they had inflated grades, John Jerrim, research associate at FFT and professor of education and social statistics at UCL Institute of Education, said: “Such claims seem a little harsh to me.

“Whether the difference in grades between 2021 and 2022 is greater for independent schools than other centre types really does depend on whether one is talking in an absolute or relative sense.”

Last week, A-level figures from Ofqual showed that the proportion of A* grades awarded to private school A-level entries had fallen 11 percentage points compared to 2021 (from 39.7 per cent to 28.7 per cent).

This year, Ofqual and the Department for Education said that exam grades would be settled at a median between pre-pandemic levels and 2021, when teacher assessment led to higher grade inflation than in previous years.

And while exams returned this year, mitigations were put in place to help students to combat learning loss, including advance information topics and exam aids such as formulae and equation sheets.