Pupils with graduate parents received an unfair advantage in their A-level results last year

Following a disastrous attempt to assign pupil grades using a controversial algorithm, last year’s GCSE and A-level grades were eventually determined using Centre Assessed Grades. New survey evidence finds that some pupils appear to have benefited unfairly from this approach – particularly pupils with graduate parents. As teachers will again be deciding exam grades this year, this finding serves as an important warning of the challenges involved in ensuring that a system using teacher assessments is fair, say Jake Anders, Lindsey Macmillan, Patrick Sturgis, and Gill Wyness.