Ofqual head reassures students they will not lose out this year after 13 A-level subjects changed to new formatEngland’s chief exam regulator has pledged that A-level grades awarded to hundreds of thousands of students on Thursday will be fair, despite the more demanding papers and complaints from pupils about out-of-date textbooks and a lack of practice materials. Collier’s comments were designed to allay fears that the revised exams had been tougher than previous ones, after claims that this year’s A-level grades had been adjusted to avoid dramatic shifts in awards. The proportion of top grades awarded in 2011 was 27%, but by last year that had slid to 25.8%. However, an informal survey of 5,000 A-level students by the Student Room community website found many complaints about the lack of study materials or practice tests designed for the new course content. But for students going on to university, those receiving better-than-expected results may have a wide range of choices.

Source: The Guardian August 16, 2017 22:52 UTC