Implications of improving exam results

Introduction

As the table below shows, the number of students gaining good A-level results has increased substantially since 1989.

(Source: QCA)

In 2006, 48.1% of A-level entries were awarded at either A or B grade. This was a record and up from 46.6% in 2005, 45.8% in 2004 and 44.5 in 2003. It means that there are even more well-qualified students chasing a finite number of places at leading universities. With so many students getting excellent results in 2006, top A-level grades alone will not be enough to get into the best courses. Even more this year, universities will be trying to differentiate applicants by looking at the other admissions criteria in entry profiles such as work experience, ICT skills, interview performance, and the quality of submitted work. With 24.1% of entries being awarded an A grade (up from 22.8% in 2005), pressure will grow for actual exam marks to be released to universities so that they can see whether applicants got high or low A grades. (Some Cambridge colleges already ask for module marks.) In the meantime, applicants who have achieved very high A-level mark scores should ensure that these are clearly stated in the school’s UCAS reference.

One suggestion to differentiate between all the A-grade candidates is for universities to request grades scored in individual subject modules as well as the overall subject grade. This is because only around 13 000 students a year, or 5% of candidates, achieve A grades in all six modules of a subject. Universities might regard these students as the highest of all achievers.