Almost 40% of teacher A-Level assessments downgraded

Teachers in England had nearly 40% of their A-level assessments downgraded by the exam regulator’s algorithm, according to official figures published on Thursday morning as sixth-formers around the UK received their results.

A-level entries awarded A or A* increased to an all-time high in England, Wales and Northern Ireland with 27.9% securing the top grades this year.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the results were a "robust set of grades".

But figures released by Ofqual showed that 39.1% of the 700,000 teacher assessments submitted in England were lowered by one or more grade during its standardisation process, compared with just 2.2% of assessments that were upgraded.

Pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds have been worst hit by the controversial standardisation process used to award A-level grades in England this year, while pupils at private schools benefited the most.

Related Articles:

• Guide to AS and A level results for England, 2020 (Gov.UK)
• Exam results in England, Wales and Northern Ireland: Q&A (The Guardian)
• A-levels: Over a third of NI results lower than estimated grades (BBC News)
• A-levels: Growing anger over 'unfair' results this year (BBC News)
• England A-level downgrades hit pupils from disadvantaged areas hardest (The Guardian)
• Downgraded A-level students urged to join possible legal action (The Guardian)