Universities seek ‘urgent clarification’ on A-level ‘triple lock’

Universities were seeking “urgent clarification” from the government over the impact of a last-minute change of policy on A-level grading in England that the main student body says could make a “mockery” of the qualifications system.

With less than 48 hours before the results of A levels were to be published, the Department for Education announced that there would be a “triple lock” on grades, with pupils able to either accept their calculated grades, await an appeal from their school based on the results of mock exams, or sit tests this autumn.

The move follows a huge row in Scotland over the way qualifications have been calculated because of the inability to sit tests in the spring as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Tens of thousands of Scottish pupils had grades that had been estimated by teachers downgraded through a standardisation process, only for Scotland’s education secretary, John Swinney, to announce a U-turn and allow grading to be based on teacher estimates alone.

It has led to growing anxiety that there will be similar problems with results in the rest of the UK, with the latest announcement for England designed to reassure those receiving results on 13 August.

But commentators have criticised the decision to use mock exam results as a fallback because they are unofficial tests carried out by individual schools.

Universities admissions could also be thrown in chaos if there are a large number of appeals; the government had indicated that universities should in effect hold open places for students awaiting such appeals.

Larissa Kennedy, president of the National Union of Students, said the use of mock results “risks making a mockery of the whole system, given the lack of a standard approach” to such tests.

“This is a botched attempt at a solution which does not fix the problem,” she said, calling on England to follow Scotland and rely on grades estimated by teachers alone.

Julia Buckingham, president of Universities UK, said students should not panic after receiving their grades because universities would be “as flexible as they can in these unusual circumstances”. Before the latest announcement, the admissions service Ucas was also emphasising that “near-miss” candidates would find that institutions were being “super-flexible” given the circumstances.

However, Professor Buckingham also said that UUK was urgently seeking more information from the government about what the latest announcement would mean for the admissions process.

“This last-minute policy change presents a number of challenges for universities, and we are seeking urgent clarification from the Department for Education on a range of issues, including the likely scale and timing of appeals,” she said.

Rachel Hewitt, director of policy and advocacy at the Higher Education Policy Institute, said the decision on mock exams might not make a huge difference because pupils in England had already been told that their schools could appeal results or that they could sit exams in the autumn.

But it did “add another layer of complexity for universities” and could lead to more appeals, “leaving universities to consider how to manage their places between those who achieve the grades, clearing and those seeking to appeal”.

“I do not envy those working in admissions offices who will have a very challenging set of circumstances to juggle in the next few days and weeks,” Ms Hewitt said.

simon.baker@timeshighereducation.com