Results day 2026: AoC in conversation with Ofqual

Ahead of the Level 2 and Level 3 results days, Ofqual’s Associate Director of Standards, Frances Wilson, sat down with AoC’s Senior Policy Manager, Eddie Playfair for a discussion about standards and grade boundaries.  

How do you ensure that standards are the same between years for the same qualification?

Exam boards are responsible for setting grade boundaries in their qualifications, and Ofqual monitors this. The process uses a combination of statistical evidence and expert judgment to make sure that, for example, a grade 4 this year represents the same standard as a grade 4 in previous years. For GCSE English and maths, the statistical evidence includes the National Reference Test, which is a consistent test sat each year that tells us about the attainment of that year’s students.  

Along with statistical evidence, expert senior examiners read actual student work on a range of marks around the proposed boundaries. They compare this work with students’ work on the boundaries from previous years to check that students receiving a particular grade have demonstrated a similar level of performance.  

And what about ensuring the same standards between different exam boards?

Ofqual regulates to ensure that exam boards are setting grade boundaries in the same way and are drawing on an appropriate range of evidence in the process. We also closely monitor exam boards’ awarding of their qualifications.

Exam papers do vary slightly between exam boards, which means their grade boundaries vary too, but the standard of student work required to get a certain grade is the same.

How is it that grade boundaries for the same qualification can change from year to year?

It’s to reflect that there can be differences in the difficulty of the assessments. So, if an exam paper is harder than in previous years, grade boundaries will be lower; and if it’s easier, then boundaries will be higher. This is important so that students aren’t advantaged or disadvantaged by the year in which they have taken their exams.

Exam boards do try to keep the level of demand for an exam paper consistent between years, but there is always some variation. You can’t know exactly how challenging a paper is until students have taken it. That’s why grade boundaries are set when most or all of the marking is complete, so that exam boards can consider the demand of the paper and ensure that standards are maintained over time.  

Is there a limit on the proportion of students who can achieve a particular grade at GCSE or A Level?

Absolutely not – there are no quotas for how many students must achieve each grade, and no cap on the number of students who can achieve the highest grades.  

Exam boards set grade boundaries so that the standard of work required to achieve a particular grade remains consistent over time. Grades are awarded based on students' performance in their assessments, not on a target percentage for each grade.

The reason outcomes are often similar from one year to the next is because overall student performance is usually fairly stable too. When outcomes do rise or fall, this typically reflects changes in the cohort taking those qualifications.

What about post-16 students retaking English and Maths, are they part of the standard setting process in the summer series?  

The same standard, and therefore the same grade boundaries, apply to everyone who sits the same paper – whether they are taking the qualification for the first time or not. This means that students producing the same quality of work will receive the same grade.  

Exams are marked anonymously, which means that examiners don’t know any personal information about the student whose work they are marking, including their age or whether they have taken the qualification before.

Senior examiners may look at the work of students of any age when recommending grade boundaries, including that of post-16 students. Ofqual makes sure that exam boards use the most appropriate data to support their awards. This is normally from 16-year-olds in the summer, because they are the largest and most stable cohort.  

How are the grade boundaries set for the November retake exams?  

In November, exam boards set grade boundaries to ensure that the quality of work needed remains consistent with the summer, so that it is no easier or harder to achieve a grade.  

As in the summer series, exam boards use a combination of statistical evidence and expert human judgment when setting boundaries in the November series.  And, as in the summer, senior examiners review the quality of student work on a range of marks before recommending boundaries based on all the available evidence.  

Further information about how marking and grading works is available here.