Rise in university dropouts due to inflated Covid A-levels and teacher assessed exams

Student dropouts at university have sharply risen following teacher assessed exams and inflated pandemic A-level grades, it has been warned.

A university reported that the failing of assessments and not submitting them at all has sparked a worrying decrease in those returning to university this year. 

Dr Ben Calvert, vice-chancellor of the University of South Wales, told The Telegraph that the number of students returning for the 2022-2023 academic year dropped by 6.1 per cent.

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

University staff were alerted of the issue in an email which reportedly read: ‘We know that the suspension of A-level examinations and the so-called grade inflation from A-levels and other qualifications has had an impact; we also know that the trend of submitting only some assessments is mirrored in our local colleges.’

Grade inflation has come after the cancellation of exams due to the pandemic, meaning that teachers decided grades for two years.

Coursework, classroom performance and mini assessments were used as measures to reach these grade decisions, which gave students a number of opportunities to prove themselves.   

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

The number of students returning for the 2022-2023 academic year dropped by 6.1 per cent at the University of South Wales, it was reported

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 a high of 19.1 per cent were A*s, up from 14.3 per cent in 2020 and 7.8 per cent in 2019. 

While promises were made that exams would return to normal, the need for certain allowances was stressed so that students were not disadvantaged compared with the year before.

But 2022 saw 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 to BBC Radio 4’s World At One programme in 2021.

He told them: ‘I do worry about the fact that we seem to have, in essence, baked a hard rock cake of grade inflation into our exam results and what we have to do to make sure is that our exams provide a level playing field, but of course… are recognised and valued by colleges, universities and employers.

‘I would have preferred a system which had some kind of standardised assessment.’

Tom Richmond, director of the EDSK [education and skills] think tank, also previously warned that the high proportion of top grades could ‘undermine the credibility’ of the results. 

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

However, in 2022, top A-level grades took the biggest drop ever registered in the 70-year history of the qualification.

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

A-Level results day in 2023 will be held on August 17.