Across England and Wales, students are receiving their GCSE results today. This is the conclusion of years of work and study. However, having had exams cancelled owing to COVID-19, understandably students and their parents have bene questioning how their grades were arrived at this year and what that means for them.
The Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) regulates qualifications, examinations and assessments in England. Following the recent A-level results, there have been concerns that their standardisation model might lower the centre assessed grades submitted by schools and colleges, particularly in disadvantaged areas. Therefore, it is very welcome that the Government announced that student GCSE grades this year are to be based on teacher assessments rather than an algorithm.
It seems inevitable that Schools and teachers will receive questions on results day. The prospect of offering advice may seem a little daunting, given the very different systems in place for this year.
As in any year, some students may not receive the grades they are expecting, but we are told that through the standardisation model, the vast majority of students this year will get the grades they have been working towards, thus enabling them to progress.
As much as students are eagerly awaiting the results, today is equally important for teachers and Schools as the GCSE grades impact league tables as well as School’s Ofsted standings.
Collecting the results
Usually, students are able to collect their results from their school or college in the morning, generally from 10am. This year, the process for getting results will depend on your place of education, so check with your school, college, or other provider. Schools may choose to email GCSE results directly to students so that there is no need to collect them in person.
It may be that some schools and colleges choose not be open to students on Results Day 2020.
The new 9-1 GCSE grades
This is the third year that GCSEs are being graded from 9 to 1 rather than A* to G. The Department for Education have issued the following table to map the two grading structures:
As you can see from, grade 4 is broadly similar to an old grade C, representing the basic pass grade. Schools will also be measured on the proportion of pupils achieving a “strong pass” of five or above.
To read more about the new grading system, visit this webite.