Over a third of NI students' estimated A-level grades ‘lowered’
Over a third of A-level students in Northern Ireland have had their estimated grades lowered.
Thousands of pupils received their grades on Thursday based on teacher predictions and statistical modelling, after examinations were cancelled amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Figures show that 37% of the estimated grades were over-optimistic in their prediction, while in around 5% of marks were increased.
In 96.7% of cases, pupils estimated grades either matched or were within one grade of the final result awarded following standardisation.
Of those, 58% of the results matched exactly. In 2019, around 46% of grades match the results attained by pupils and 40% proved overly optimistic.Meanwhile, the overall pass rate of pupils achieving an A*-E grade rose by 0.8% to 99.1.
The percentage of pupils achieving the top A* grade also increased by 1% to 9.8%, while those achieving A* or A grades rose by 2.3% to 33.2%.
Female students once again outperformed their male counterparts at the highest grades, with the gap broadly in line with recent years.
The calculated system also saw performance at AS level improve on 2019.
The majority of the results (86%) were issued by the Northern Ireland awarding body, the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA).
A-level entries remained stable in Northern Ireland this year, with mathematics accounting for over one in 10 entries.
2020 A-level results in numbers:
There were 27,791 A-level results issued in the region
The percentage attaining a top A grade rose by 2.1% to 29.4%
Those attaining an A-E grade rose by 0.9% to 96.4%
Participation in STEM subjects saw a small increase this year, accounting for 39.8% of overall entries.
Following the cancellation of exams in March due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the exam bodies had been instructed by Education Minister Peter Weir to ensure the calculated results in 2020 were broadly in line with performance in recent years.
While an increase has been recorded, the CCEA is content the rise is not significant enough to impact the integrity of the results set.
Justin Edwards, Chief Executive of the Council for the CCEA said: “All of us at CCEA, working closely with the education community, have strived to ensure that students are able to progress this year.
"As a result of this collaborative work, we have delivered grades to students which we predict they would have achieved had they sat the examinations and which carry the same value as in previous years.
"The grades received by students this morning will enable them to progress to the next stage of their journey, be it in education or employment. We wish them all every success."
Most popular subjects at GCE A-level in NI:
Mathematics (10.6%)
Biology (9.5%)
Business Studies (7 %)
Religious Studies (6.5%)
English Literature (6.4%)
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