England scraps exam grading system after A-level results fiasco enrages students
- Thousands had been set to lose university places after government used algorithm to predict results of exams cancelled by coronavirus pandemic
- U-turn comes after PM Boris Johnson holds call with Education Secretary Gavin Williamson and senior officials amid widespread criticism
In a U-turn after days of criticism, the British government on Monday scrapped an exam-grading policy that was set to deprive thousands of 18-year-old school-leavers – especially the more disadvantaged – of places at universities.
Roger Taylor, head of the exam regulator Ofqual, said the use of an algorithm to predict the results of exams that were cancelled by the coronavirus pandemic had caused “real anguish and damaged public confidence.”
“It has not been an acceptable experience for young people,” he said. “I would like to say sorry.”
Universities in Britain offer final-year high school students places based on grades predicted by their teachers. Admission is contingent on the results of final exams, known as A Levels.
This year, with schools largely shut since March and no exams, education authorities in England ran the predicted grades through an algorithm, intended to standardise results, that compared them with schools’ past performance.