There are questions to be asked about the “fairness” of the exam system as different grading standards have been used in different UK nations, according to a social mobility expert.
A-level results in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have been published, with each nation taking an individual approach this year to grading and support offered to pupils following changes during the pandemic.
But this has led to warnings from some quarters about the impact on students.
Lee Elliot Major, professor of social mobility at the University of Exeter, said: “Questions must be asked about the fairness of an examination system that has applied different grade standards to different year cohorts of students but also students in the same year – depending on whether they live in England, Scotland or Wales.”
In England, exams regulator Ofqual had said this year’s A-level results would be lower than last year and they would be similar to those in 2019 as part of efforts to return to pre-pandemic grading.
