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Disadvantaged pupils worst hit by A-level downgrades, figures show

2 mins read Education Coronavirus
Disadvantaged students have been worst affected by the government’s controversial standardised grading system used to award A-level results, official figures show.
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson insists the standardisation system is 'robust and fair'. Picture: Adobe Stock
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson insists the standardisation system is 'robust and fair'. Picture: Adobe Stock

Private schools saw twice the amount of pupils awarded top A* and A grades today (13 August) than state schools with those in the poorest areas of England marked down most harshly, analysis of figures by exam regulator Ofqual shows.

Despite the number of A* and A grades increasing by 2.4 percentage points compared with last year, the use of a statistical model to calculate exam results saw 39 per cent of teacher-predicted grades marked down by one grade, figures show.

A further 3.5 per cent of students had teacher predictions marked down by one grade or more.

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