A-level results show the patterns of disadvantage the government must tackle

By Mary Richardson, Professor of Educational Assessment, UCL

Hundreds of thousands of students have now nervously opened their A-level results. These handfuls of letter grades matter, and not just to the students themselves. They have far-reaching effects on our whole education system and public views on standards in education.

The impact of changes to assessment as a result of the pandemic are still being felt. In England, assessment returned to pre-pandemic grade boundaries in 2023, and this year the number of top grades awarded has risen.

In Wales and Northern Ireland, however, this was the first year assessment returned to

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