The study shows that state school pupils are likely to do better at university than independent school peers with similar A level results.
It suggests that too much exam coaching at school might be responsible for leaving private school pupils struggling at university.
The Role of the A* Grade at A Level as a Predictor of University Performance in the United Kingdom was presented at the Association for Educational Assessment conference in Glasgow last week.
Researchers Dr Carmen Vidal Rodeiro and Nadir Zanini, from Cambridge Assessment, were focusing on how effective the A* A level grade is as a predictor of university performance.
They found that the number of A* grades is a good predictor of achieving a first or at least an upper second degree in both Russell and non-Russell Group universities.
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