Grading Severity
The issue
There is concern that students are influenced towards
taking 'softer' subjects at A-level due to the lack of parity
between A-level examinations in different
subjects. This grading severity means that the science
subjects are perceived to be more difficult to obtain the higher
grades and therefore the UCAS Tariff points required to
enter higher education.
Policy advice
There is the need for a transparent approach to the
relative difficulties or grading severity of different subjects at
A-level. Research is required into the various
options of achieving this transparency:
- Make all subjects the same standard - Equate the standards of
grades in different subjects to make them statistically comparable.
In some instances this would result in subjects becoming too hard
for candidates that currently take them or for others, too
easy.
- Change the way grades are used - Introduce a scaling system so
that some grades are acknowledged to be worth more than others for
certain purposes such as applying to university.
Activities
The SCORE partnership commissioned researchers at the
Curriculum, Evaluation and Management Centre (CEM), Durham
University to investigate the grading severity of A-level
examinations in different subjects. The research analysed 250,000
A-level results over five robust statistical methods and found that
it is easier to achieve the top grades in subjects like Media
Studies and Psychology than it is when taking subjects like Maths,
Physics and Chemistry.
The full research report was published in July 2008 and
questions the suitability of UCAS point-scoring system, which
treats all subjects as equally difficult. The report also runs
contrary to a report released by the then OCA (Qualifications and
Curriculum Authority) in February 2008, the 'Inter-Subject
Comparability Study', which stated that there are "no substantial
or consistent differences in standards between any subjects at any
level". The report also reviewed existing work on
comparability of subject examinations.
Working with the science community
SCORE intends to use the grading severity report to inform
the partners' policy on the issue of grading severity and how to
work with the relevant stakeholders to make a change to the current
system.