GCSE results released today have sparked widespread concern as the percentage of pupils achieving A*-C grades has plummeted for the first time since 1988. The overall proportion of entries awarded an A*-C grade dropped by 0.4 percentage points from 69.8% last year to 69.4% this year, fuelling fears that the exams may have been marked too harshly.
The decline in top grades is particularly pronounced in core subjects, with a drop in the proportion of pupils gaining at least a C in English, mathematics, and science. The adjustment of grade boundaries for English by all exam boards has raised eyebrows, with Brian Lightman of the Association of School and College Leaders noting that "the grade boundaries in English have been moved up, on the C/D borderline, and they've been moved up very substantially." Nationally, the proportion of pupils achieving an A* or A in English declined by 1.3 and 0.5 percentage points respectively.
This year's results pose a significant threat to schools struggling to meet the government's updated "floor standard," which now requires 40% of pupils (up from 35%) to achieve at least five good GCSE passes, including English and mathematics. Schools failing to meet this benchmark risk being closed or converted into academies, removing them from local authority control.
Shadow Education Secretary Stephen Twigg has questioned whether the decline in A*-C grades in English and mathematics was due to "pressure from Ofqual to shift grade boundaries." While Ofqual chief executive Glenys Stacey denied specific pressure on exam boards to lower grades, she acknowledged that the regulator was adopting a different approach compared to five years ago. Exam chiefs maintained that the required standards for students remained consistent, although Mark Dawe of OCR noted a "very, very clearly a new standard in science" demanded by the government.
Furthermore, the gap between boys' and girls' performance at grades A* to C has widened. This year, 65.4% of boys' entries achieved this level, compared to 73.3% of girls' entries – a slight decrease for both genders compared to last year, where 66% of boys' entries and 73.5% of girls' entries attained A*-C grades.
The consequences of these changes are already being felt within the government's flagship academies programme, with reports indicating that results at several academy schools have declined. For example, at Burlington Danes academy in west London, 64% of students achieved five good passes with English and mathematics, a drop from 75% last year.