Rise in university dropouts due to increased COVID A-levels and teacher-assessed exams

It has warned that the number of students leaving university has risen sharply due to teacher-assessed exams and the pandemic exaggerating A-level grades.

A university reported that students failed assessments or did not submit them at all There has been an alarming decrease in those returning to university this year.

Dr Ben Calvert, Vice Chancellor of the University of South Wales said this wire That the number of returning students for the 2022-2023 academic year has declined by 6.1 percent.

University staff were alerted to the issue in an email which reportedly read: ‘We are aware that the suspension of A-level examinations and so-called grade inflation has had an impact on A-levels and other qualifications; We also know that there is a trend in our local colleges to submit only a few assessments.

Grade inflation came after exams were canceled due to the pandemic, meaning teachers fixed grades for two years.

Coursework, class performance, and mini-assessments were used as measures to reach these grade decisions, giving students many opportunities to prove themselves.

Nearly half of all A-Level grades – 45 per cent – ​​were awarded an A or A* in 2021, compared with 39 per cent in 2020 and 25 per cent in 2019.

The University of South Wales has seen a 6.1 per cent drop in the number of returning students for the 2022-2023 academic year.

Last year saw 43,000 young people without a guaranteed place at university – the highest number in a decade – partly influenced by a spike in applications

and had the highest A*S of 19.1 percent, up from 14.3 percent in 2020 and 7.8 percent in 2019.

While promises were made that examinations would become normal, the need for certain allowances was stressed so that The students were not deprived as compared to the previous year.

But 2022 sees 43,000 without a guaranteed place at university – the highest number in a decade – partly influenced by a spike in applications.

Conservative MP Robert Halfon and chairman of the Commons education committee raised his concerns about the exam system in 2021 on BBC Radio 4’s World at One programme.

He told them: ‘I worry about the fact that we think we have created a hard rock cake of grade inflation in our exam results and what we need to do to make sure our exams are a level playing field. Provides ground. , but of course… are recognized and valued by colleges, universities, and employers.

‘I would have preferred a system that had some sort of standardized assessment.’

EDSK Director Tom Richmond [education and skills] The think tank had also earlier warned that the high proportion of top grades could ‘undermine the credibility’ of the results.

With regard to awarding generous grades, he said: ‘Even though awarding such high grades may seem fair to some students, it may harm their long-term prospects when they apply for jobs in the future. ‘ ‘There is now a serious risk that this year’s grades are meaningless in the eyes of employers and universities.’

However, in 2022, top A-level grades recorded the biggest drop ever in the qualification’s 70-year history.

This was despite the supply of ‘cheat sheets’ and extra leniency due to Covid disruptions.

A-level result day in 2023 will be on 17 August.