Yesterday, the minister of education justified this year’s record dip in marks by asserting that even students want it.
Will Quince said that in order to assure “robustness and rigour” in the system, grading has to be brought back to pre-pandemic standards.
Businesses, companies, institutions, and young people themselves, according to him, have all expressed a desire for this.
Furthermore, he emphasised that although it was appropriate to permit “extraordinary measures” on grading during Covid, this cannot go on indefinitely.
Since 2010, the Tories have set a limit of roughly 25% on the percentage of A and A* grades. Exams were suspended for two years during the epidemic, and instructors instead assigned grades.
It projected that over 45% of grades in 2021 were A or A*, almost doubling levels from 2019.
Exams were taken again this year, and it is anticipated that the share of high marks would be 10 percentage points lower. With the return to normality taking place over a two-year period, it will still be 10 points higher than in 2019.
We have experienced remarkable events during the previous several years, according to Mr. Quince. However, we are aware that instructors found it to be time-consuming and stressful, and they want us to return to the robustness and rigour of tests.
Exams “are the finest and fairest means of measuring a student’s abilities,” he said. Universities and companies are sending a clear message: “Qualifications are necessary for them to keep their worth and to provide an accurate picture of the aptitude and educational achievement of young people.”
Despite the decline in grades, according to Mr. Quince, 80% of those with acceptance offers are anticipated to have them confirmed.