Two in five A-level grades submitted by teachers have been changed following moderation, schools minister Nick Gibb said this morning.
The news means that, as reported by Tes more than a month ago, England will have far more grade changes than the 26 per cent in Scotland, whichprovoked huge controversy and yesterday's U-turn north of the border.
Teacher-assessed grades, moderated by statistical modelling, were introduced in both countries following the coronavirus cancellation of exams. But fears have been growing of a backlash when A-level results are released tomorrow.
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Speaking onBBC Radio 4, Mr Gibb said: "The majority of students tomorrow will get the grade submitted by their teachers.
Downgraded A-level results
"Those 40 per centthat areadjusted will be by just one grade."
Tes first reported fears that two in five A-level and GCSE teacher-assessed grades could be moderated downwardsin early July, as insiders shared concerns that this summer’s results would be a “shock”, predictinga backlash because they could look “terrible”.
ʰ𱹾dzܲmodellingbyFFT Education Datalab had found that teacher-assessed GCSE grades were higher than 2019 scores, and that up to a third could be inflated.
Exam board modelling hadbacked up that level of disparity but insiders had saidit may well be higher still, with 40 per cent of grades being changed a "likely" outcome.
