Exam results to return to pre-Covid levels: will grade boundaries be removed as life returns to normal?

Grade boundaries look set to change once again.

Exams are over for another year and those who’ve been studying for GCSEs and A’levels will no doubt be relieved to down tools and relax.

Exams over the past few years have of course been impacted by the Covid pandemic, support measures and adjustments brought in to help students whose education may have been affected.

Exams were cancelled in 2020 and 2021 and results were based on teacher assessments rather than exams – resulting in an increase in the top grades.

Now that things have pretty much returned to normal, how will grades be decided this year – and will the support still be in place?

Will grade boundaries be lower in 2023?

Pupils who have taken GCSE or A’levels in England this year won’t benefit from some of the support provided during the coronavirus pandemic – with Ofqual, England’s exam regulator, saying some of the adjustments brought in during Covid will be removed or scaled back in a ‘step back to normal’.

There was an increase in top grades in 2020 and 2021, because results were based on teacher assessments rather than exams.

But Dr Jo Saxton, Ofqual head, says this year’s exam results will be more similar to pre-pandemic levels – although she added that examiners would use data to set grade thresholds that are ‘fair to students’.

‘As in any year, grade boundaries for every specification will be set by the senior examiners after they have reviewed the work produced by students in the assessments,’ she said.

‘But those senior examiners will be guided in their decisions about where to set grade boundaries by information about the grades achieved in pre-pandemic years by cohorts of students, along with prior attainment data.

‘That means the 2023 cohort will be protected in grading terms if their exam performance is a little lower than before the pandemic.’

She added that, broadly speaking, a typical student who would have achieved an A grade in their A-level geography before the pandemic, for example, should be just as likely to get an A in this summer’s exams, ‘even if their performance in the assessments is a little weaker in 2023 than it would have been before the pandemic’

When are A’level and GCSE results days?

According to Gov.uk, A’level results day will be on August 17, 2023, with results usually available from 8am (or whenever your school or college opens).

Students will be able to pick up their AS level, A level and T Level results.

The Gov.uk site also states that: ‘Students will receive results for level 3 VTQs on or before August 17 and will receive results for level 2 VTQs on or before August 24 2023.’

SQA results are due to be released to students In Scotland on Tuesday, August 8, 2023.

GCSE results will be available on August 24.

Your child’s individual school should announce when it will be open for students to arrive and pick up the envelope containing their results.

If they are unable to attend in person, such as if they are on holiday, the school may offer the option for results to be received via email, according to TES Magazine.

Alternatively, most schools will allow a family member or nominated guardian to pick them up on the student’s behalf.

MORE : Fake GCSE and A-level exam papers are being sold for up to £4,000

Follow Metro across our social channels, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

Share your views in the comments below