GCE A-level and GCSE: Assessments

(asked on 1st September 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department made of the outcome of the results for pupils attending schools with larger than average class sizes in advance of the 2020 (a) GCSE and (b) A-level grades being moderated using Ofqual's algorithm for moderating.


Answered by
Nick Gibb Portrait
Nick Gibb
This question was answered on 10th September 2020

The development of the algorithm used to moderate the 2020 GCSE and A level results was a matter for Ofqual as independent regulator.

In April and May, Ofqual worked with technical experts across the sector to test 12 different statistical standardisation models using data from previous years. In selecting the final model, Ofqual chose the one that most accurately predicted students’ grades in a way that did not systematically affect groups of students with particular protected characteristics. Ofqual also considered operational issues, such as how easy it was to implement the approaches consistently across all four exam boards, and issues of transparency.

Detailed analysis of the potential approaches to standardisation considered, and details of the testing of the different models, and the results of this testing, can be found in Ofqual’s published report at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/awarding-gcse-as-a-levels-in-summer-2020-interim-report.

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