Exams regulator Ofqual has set out the key things that teachers and headteachers should know about GCSE and A-level grading this year as exam season approaches.
This year’s GCSE exam period begins on 8 May and runs until 19 June. A-level exams will start on 12 May and run until 24 June.
Ofqual has published a guide to the grading process for teachers and heads, explaining how the grades that students will receive on results days - 14 August for A levels and 21 August for GCSEs - are arrived at.
GCSE and A-level exam grading in 2025
Here are the key takeaways:
1. The standard of work needed for a particular grade remains comparable
Ofqual emphasises that grade boundaries are set with the aim of maintaining the standards needed to get a particular grade over time - not to ensure that the same proportion of students get that grade.
There are no quotas for the number of students who must pass or fail an exam each year, or limits on the number of students who can get each grade, the regulator adds.
Speaking to Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, in an interview about how grading works, Sir Ian Bauckham, chief regulator at Ofqual, highlighted how summer 2024 was the second year that grading had returned to normal standards after the pandemic.
“When I say ‘normal standards’, what I mean by that is the standard of work that you need to get any particular grade at GCSE or A level or any particular qualification is held steady over time,” Sir Ian said.
He cited GCSE computer science, French and German as examples of where grading needed to be adjusted to ensure that standards were comparable year on year.
2. Grade boundaries change from year to year
Grade boundaries will change year on year depending on the difficulty of the exam, though exam boards “try to keep the level of demand consistent”, Ofqual explains in its guide.
Changes to grade boundaries are to ensure that it is no easier or harder to get a particular grade between different years.
“The bit that we’re interested in making sure exam boards do properly is that setting of the grade boundaries because that’s the bit that maintains the standard,” Sir Ian said.
“If exam grades inflate, then people ask for higher and higher grades because they trust the grades less, and what we aim to do is make sure young people’s grades stand the test of tie and remain trusted.”
3. Marking is usually split by question
After students take their exams, anonymised scripts are sent out to markers for the relevant exam boards. Usually, scripts are split by question so an examiner will mark many different students’ responses to one question.
Examiners will have been trained to use the mark scheme, and there should be a quality assurance system in place to maintain consistency across examiners’ work.
Speaking with Mr Di’Iasio, Sir Ian said people often use the terms “marking” and “grading” interchangeably.
“They’re actually two very distinct phases in the process,” he said.
Grading is the point where the standard has to be held steady over time, and only involves senior examiners, he added.
4. Grade boundaries are decided when marking is nearly complete
When marking is nearly finished, exam boards analyse data about how students are doing in the qualification compared with those who have taken it in the past. This data is used to gauge whether students found the exam easier or harder than in previous years, and is then used to set out potential grade boundaries that will keep the standard of work needed for a particular grade comparable.
Senior examiners will look at samples of work from students near the potential grade boundaries and compare that with work from previous cohorts. These are used to decide whether the potential grade boundary is appropriate, and then final grade boundaries are set.
The number of students achieving a particular grade can vary between exam boards for the same qualification because it reflects the level of difficulty of each paper.
Awarding committees for each qualification and each exam board set grade boundaries. These are made up of experienced examiners who almost always have a teaching background.
Ofqual monitors this process and may observe these meetings to make sure it is happening as it would expect.
5. Grade boundaries cannot be adjusted for certain groups of students
Ofqual emphasises that grade boundaries must apply to all students taking a particular exam board specification and cannot be varied to reflect disruption experienced by a particular group of students or schools.
Last year there were calls for uplifts to the grades of students studying at schools and colleges that had been heavily disrupted by the reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) crisis. However, Sir Ian said a one-off grade uplift would be unfair.
Exams have to measure what students know and understand when they are assessed, not what they could have done or known in different circumstances, Ofqual said.
Exam boards made some agreements with schools to allow longer coursework deadlines for affected students.
Candidates can apply for special consideration, but only if they were disrupted in a way that could have had an effect on their ability to take an exam or demonstrate their normal level of attainment at the time of the exam.
6. Trends in the National Reference Test
Every year a sample of Year 11 students take the National Reference test in February and March. The test consists of questions similar to those in maths and English language GCSE, and is intended to allow Ofqual to monitor performance over time in these subjects.
The results last year showed a slight downward trend in English performance over time, and a slight upward trend in maths performance.
“We’ll be very interested to look at the results of this year’s National Reference Test and see whether or not those trends are continuing, and if they are continuing that will inform decisions about grading in those two subjects,” Sir Ian said.