Students taking GCSE qualifications in 2024 will not need exam mitigations put in place to protect against the impact of Covid disruption on their learning, the chief regulator has said.
GCSE results this year revealed an expected fall in the overall proportion of top grades awarded in England, and marked the second year in Ofqual’s two-year plan to return to pre-pandemic grading, with “some protection against any impact of Covid disruption”.
Speaking to Tes following the publication of GCSE results across England, Jo Saxton said the results “marked the second and final step in the two-year, two-step plan to return grading to normal”.
Following the release of results, headteachers and leaders warned that the impact of Covid on students is not over, with some accusing the government of failing to do enough to support education recovery.
But Dr Saxton said that grading next year will be “normal” and that “now we’re back to normal…we don’t need that sort of protection”.
She added that while Covid had cast a “long shadow”, it was important that results are “as reliable and accurate as possible”.
“What I can say to leaders is that it will be no harder for their students to get a particular grade in 2024 than it was in 2019. That’s what they need to take assurance from,” she said.
High absence after Covid is a ‘tragedy’
However, Dr Saxton, who is also a former school leader, told Tes that continuing high pupil absence rates since the pandemic are “a tragedy” and “incredibly sad”.
“Attendance is the backbone of good educational attainment. If you’re not in school, you’re not going to be taught and you will not do as well in your qualification - so it’s absolutely crucial that students go to school.
“It’s a tragedy. As a former school leader, it’s incredibly sad that students aren’t attending school as much as they used to.”
In a separate recent interview with Tes, she said that while grading this year had returned to pre-pandemic levels, there was “absolutely the pandemic has cast a long shadow”.
Private school achievement falls below pre-pandemic levels
In 2023, the proportion of students achieving a grade 7/A and above in private schools was 46.6 per cent, slightly below the 2019 figure of 47 per cent.
However, in secondary modern schools, sixth-form colleges and further education establishments, grades were slightly above 2019 levels in 2023.
Asked about this disparity, Dr Saxton said there are “differences in outcomes between centre type in any year”.
She added that today’s results “show that the approach with independent expert markers and lead examiners who are setting the grade boundaries is the fairest form of assessment and levels the playing field between centre types”.
