UK Universities brace ahead of ‘significant’ A-level grade inflation

A-level results due to be released next week throughout the UK could see record-setting high grades, suggests an annual analysis of exam trends.

Prof Alan Smithers at the University of Buckingham predicts that cancelled exams due to the pandemic may result in a “bumper crop” of A* and A grades.

Smiters has warned against allowing “grade inflation” to become the new normal in the coming years.

Universities are currently worries that if more students receive high grades on their A-level exams – which have been submitted by teachers for two years now – placements for courses will become much more competitive.

Recent numbers revealed that an astounding 680,000 university applications have already been submitted for the upcoming academic year.

Certain universities, such as the University of Exeter, have already had to take action after oversubscribing this year’s medicine course by offering students 10,000 pounds cash to defer their studies until next Autumn.

This will be the second consecutive year that students’ A-level results will be recording without them having to take the ususal set of exam papers.

Instead, schools will determine pupil’s grades based on a range of assessments including mock exams and coursework. This year’s final results will be issued by exam boards next week.

Last year’s results showed that 38.5 percent of A-level students received an A* or A grade, a significant increase from 25.5 percent in 2019.

Prof Smithers predicts that this year’s results will be just as high or even higher, in an attempt to compensate for disruptions students have faced as a result of the pandemic.

“While logically there is no reason why A-level standards should not be restored to what they were in 2019, my fear is that the various pressures will cause the government to allow what they became in 2020 to stand,” he said.

Smithers added that A-level grade inflation makes it more difficult for universities to differentiate between applicants.

“Leading universities could be forced to set their own tests to help them distinguish between the many prospective students awarded straight As,” said Prof Smithers.

However, Prof Graham Galbraith at the University of Portsmouth, has rejected the focus on temporary grade inflation.

“These young people have had a very difficult time since March 2020. How their grades compare with other years is of secondary importance. We should prioritise this year’s students and treat this year as the extreme exception it obviously is,” he said.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has also responded to universities’ concern around A-level grade inflation, promising that additional placements will be funded for medical courses: “Students have worked incredibly hard over the past 18 months and we have continued to put their best interests first to ensure they can progress on to the next stage of their education training or career.”