Analysis of the data so far on this year’s results from A Levels and other qualifications by our Head of Research & Policy, Rebecca Montacute.
This year’s results are a major milestone for this year group, after years of disruption throughout key parts of their education due to the pandemic, followed quickly by the cost of living crisis – with the lowest income young people hardest hit.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the huge challenges this cohort has faced, initial data show some worrying trends for educational inequality, with potential long-term implications for social mobility.
This year, Ofqual were aiming for a return to pre-pandemic grading standards, with a large fall in top grades expected.
And indeed, overall, the proportion of top A level grades (A and A*) has fallen again this year, from 36.4% in 2022 to 27.2% in 2023, a fall of 9.2 percentage points. This is, however, still higher than pre-pandemic, with the same figure standing at 25.4% in 2019. And lower grades have actually fallen further than those at the top, with overall grades of E and above now slightly below where they were in 2019, at 97.3%, compared to 97.6% pre-pandemic.
