The Results Are In! What Do the Entries, Results and Grade Boundaries Tell Us About the State Of A-Level Psychology?

The day has finally arrived, and the first set of linear A-Level results are now in. While today is a particularly stressful day for both teachers and students, the new linear A-Levels have provided a challenge for teachers and students alike, and I hope that everyone (both teachers and students) achieved the results they worked so hard for.

However, now that the envelopes are open and university choices are being confirmed, we can start to unravel the impact of the new linear A-Level on the results, grade boundaries and the number of A-Level Psychology entries for the three major exam boards. 

Please note that these figures are taken from the provisional results and are subject to change, albeit slightly.

Overall Entries

Overall numbers in psychology are slightly down on last year - 54,512 entries in 2017 compared to 56,413 in 2016 – a decrease of 3.4%. Two of the major exam boards have suffered losses, with OCR suffering a significant 28% decrease in entries and Edexcel suffering a modest 4.6% decrease. AQA remain the dominant board with an 81% market share, with OCR on 10% and Edexcel on 9%.

Results

The number of high grades (A*-A) declined for two of the three boards which is partially expected with the launch of a new specification, as teachers and students require time to adjust to the new style of examinations. However, it should also be noted that the calculation of A* grade has changed with the linear A-Level. Students are no longer required to achieve an average of 90% in their final year papers (plus an A grade overall); it is simply calculated in-line with other grade boundaries. For example, the A* boundary for AQA was 75.35% which means that only 4.7% of students achieved more than 75% across their three A-Level papers.

The A-C pass rate increased for AQA and Edexcel, while it decreased slightly for OCR. However, it should be noted that AQA and OCR still have higher pass rates than Edexcel at 74% and 72.4%, compared to 70.9%.

The overall A-E pass rate was broadly similar for all three boards, with only 0.2 percentage points separating them.

Grade Boundaries

While broadly speaking the results look comparable to last year, if you look at the grade boundaries (using AQA as an example) you can see that the standard required to achieve the grades has declined significantly. The difference at the top is relatively small, 2% less for an A; however, as you move your way down the grade boundaries you can see that the percentage required to achieve an E in 2017 was nearly 14% lower in 2017, in comparison to 2016. This highlights the significant impact that the reformed linear A-Level has had on the student responses in the exam, and highlights significant room for improvement.

What’s Next?

• An overview of the AS Psychology headline figures
• A breakdown of the AS and A Level Psychology grade boundaries by exam board and paper
• Our detailed analysis of the A Level Psychology by paper, topic and question type

This entry will be followed-up with a series of entries unpicking the strengths/weaknesses of the new A-Level papers and what we can do to support our students in September. Make sure that you are subscribed to email updates to receive an email notification when we publish more Psychology news.