No action to be taken on severe A level grading

Ofqual has been looking into the extent that severe grading affects A levels in French, Spanish, German, physics, chemistry and biology.

Its report finds that while the subjects are of “above average difficulty” and among the most severely graded, there is “not a compelling case” to adjust grading standards.

The report adds: “However, we recognise the potential for perceived grading severity to undermine public confidence in these qualifications, and we will therefore consider with exam boards how we should act to avoid the potential for these subjects to become statistically more difficult in the future.”

Dr Michelle Meadows, Ofqual’s executive director strategy, risk and research, said: “Public perceptions of the difficulty of these subjects is longstanding. However, adjusting grading standards is something we would only consider if there were a uniformly compelling case to do so. We have carefully considered the arguments of stakeholders and closely examined a broad range of evidence against our criteria. We have concluded there is no such uniformly compelling case to adjust grading standards in these subjects.”