Average score for students taking A levels and other qualifications

Published 23 November 2023

Contents

1. Main facts and figures

• the average point score for all students taking A levels in the 2021 to 2022 academic year was 38.87 – equivalent to grade B
• students from the Chinese ethnic group had the highest average point score in every type of qualification out of all ethnic groups

Further research:

Recent research by Ofqual explored differences in students’ A level outcome measures (grade achieved, probability of attaining grade A and above, and probability of attaining grade C and above).

They compared the white British group (as the largest ethnic group) against other ethnic groups. They found that although black African students had poorer outcomes than white British students, the gap between black African students and white British students was narrower in 2022 compared with 2021.

The analysis controlled for other personal characteristics likely to influence A level outcomes, such as gender, prior attainment, and socio-economic status. Their results suggest that the differences in attainment can not be fully explained by these characteristics.

2. Things you need to know

What the data measures

The data shows the average point score and equivalent grade for students taking:

• A levels, applied generals and tech levels – these are all level 3 qualifications, which are usually taken by 16 to 18 year olds
• technical certificates – these are level 2 vocational qualifications

The number of points depends on the qualification and grade. For example, an A* at A level is worth 60 points, and a C is worth 30 points. You can see a list of all point scores.

Average point scores are rounded to 2 decimal places for 2021 to 2022 data. Scores are rounded to 4 decimal places for the 2 academic years ending in August 2021 in the data file.

How average point scores are calculated

The average point score is worked out by dividing the total point score by the size of entries.

You can see a guide to performance points, including how to calculate a qualification’s size equivalence.

The ethnic groups used in the data

The ethnic groups are based on the 18 ethnic groups used in the 2011 Census, with 3 exceptions:

• there are separate categories for Traveller of Irish Heritage, and Gypsy and Roma students
• the Chinese ethnic group has its own category and is not part of the Asian ethnic group
• there is no separate Arab ethnic group under the ‘other’ ethnic group

Ethnicity was not known for:

• 16.1% of A level students
• 6.0% of applied general students
• 5.2% of tech level students
• 10.9% of level 2 technical certificate students

This is mainly because students at independent schools do not have their ethnicity recorded in the school census.

Methodology

Read the detailed methodology document for this data.

Scores for the 2021 to 2022 academic year are not directly comparable with scores for the previous 2 years. This is because of changes to:

• how A levels and vocational technical qualifications were awarded in 2020 and 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic
• the grade boundaries, methods of assessment, and reporting of qualifications for the 2021 to 2022 academic year

You can read more about performance tables and data reported during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some of the figures mentioned on this page are based on small numbers of pupils – this makes it difficult to make reliable generalisations.

In the data file

Download file for figures for the 3 academic years between September 2019 and July 2022.

3. By ethnicity (A level students only)

• Location: England
• Time period: 2021 to 2022 academic year
• Source: A level and other 16 to 18 results: 2022 (revised)

Average point score and equivalent grade, by ethnicity (A level students only)

Ethnicity	Average Point Score	Grade	Number of students
All	38.87	B	284,380
Asian	37.22	B-	35,112
Bangladeshi	35.66	B-	5,935
Indian	40.08	B	11,158
Pakistani	34.80	C+	11,289
Asian other	37.46	B-	6,730
Black	34.06	C+	15,444
Black African	34.46	C+	11,248
Black Caribbean	32.22	C+	2,354
Black other	33.84	C+	1,842
Chinese	43.66	B+	1,576
Mixed	38.09	B-	13,582
Mixed white and Asian	40.11	B	3,781
Mixed white and black African	37.53	B-	1,743
Mixed white and black Caribbean	35.67	B-	2,569
Mixed other	37.90	B-	5,489
White	38.31	B-	167,568
White British	38.32	B-	152,365
White Irish	41.40	B	950
Gypsy or Roma	28.48	C	79
Irish Traveller	32.55	C+	21
White other	38.00	B-	14,153
Other	36.74	B-	5,363
Unknown	43.79	B+	45,735

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Average score for students taking A levels and other qualifications By ethnicity (A level students only) Summary

In the 2021 to 2022 academic year, 77.5% of level 3 students took A levels.

The data shows that:

• the average point score for all A level students was 38.87 (equivalent to grade B) –this includes students whose ethnicity was not known
• students from the Chinese ethnic group had the highest average point score out of all ethnic groups (43.66 – equivalent to grade B+)
• students from the Gypsy and Roma ethnic group had the lowest average point score (28.48 – equivalent to grade C) – this is based on 79 students and is less reliable as a result
• students from the black Caribbean ethnic group had the second lowest average point score (32.22 – equivalent to grade C+)
• the score for white British students (38.32) was below the national average – the scores for students from the Indian (40.08), mixed white and Asian (40.11), and white Irish (41.30) ethnic groups were above the national average
• the ethnicity was not known for 16.1% of A level students – this group had an average point score of 43.79, equivalent to grade B+

4. By ethnicity (applied general students only)

• Location: England
• Time period: 2021 to 2022 academic year
• Source: A level and other 16 to 18 results: 2022 (revised)

Average point score and equivalent grade, by ethnicity (applied general students only)

Ethnicity	Average Point Score	Grade	Number of students
All	31.98	Dist-	119,853
Asian	31.91	Dist-	16,848
Bangladeshi	31.95	Dist-	3,231
Indian	33.23	Dist-	3,608
Pakistani	31.38	Dist-	7,740
Asian other	31.64	Dist-	2,269
Black	28.95	Merit+	10,312
Black African	29.12	Merit+	6,968
Black Caribbean	28.33	Merit+	2,073
Black other	29.08	Merit+	1,271
Chinese	33.77	Dist	284
Mixed	30.72	Dist-	5,848
Mixed white and Asian	31.99	Dist-	1,192
Mixed white and black African	29.81	Merit+	831
Mixed white and black Caribbean	30.60	Dist-	1,512
Mixed other	30.50	Dist-	2,313
White	32.51	Dist-	76,658
White British	32.70	Dist-	69,794
White Irish	32.12	Dist-	260
Gypsy or Roma	27.61	Merit+	91
Irish Traveller	30.00	Dist-	16
White other	30.76	Dist-	6,497
Other	30.58	Dist-	2,689
Unknown	33.08	Dist-	7,214

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Average score for students taking A levels and other qualifications By ethnicity (applied general students only) Summary

In the 2021 to 2022 academic year, 32.7% of level 3 students took applied general qualifications.

The data shows that:

• the average point score for all students taking applied general qualifications was 31.98 (equivalent to ‘distinction minus’) – this includes students whose ethnicity was not known
• students from the Chinese ethnic group had the highest average point score out of all ethnic groups (33.77 – equivalent to ‘distinction’)
• students from the Gypsy and Roma ethnic group had the lowest average point score (27.61 – equivalent to grade ‘merit plus’) – this is based on 91 students and is less reliable as a result
• the average point score of white British students was above the national average (32.70 – equivalent to ‘distinction minus’)

5. By ethnicity (tech level students only)

• Location: England
• Time period: 2021 to 2022 academic year
• Source: A level and other 16 to 18 results: 2022 (revised)

Average point score and equivalent grade, by ethnicity (tech level students only)

Ethnicity	Average Point Score	Grade	Number of students
All	30.56	Dist-	28,535
Asian	30.62	Dist-	2,677
Bangladeshi	30.63	Dist-	415
Indian	32.46	Dist-	604
Pakistani	29.35	Merit+	1,290
Asian other	32.10	Dist-	368
Black	28.22	Merit+	1,523
Black African	28.39	Merit+	979
Black Caribbean	27.25	Merit+	373
Black other	29.33	Merit+	171
Chinese	34.85	Dist	49
Mixed	30.20	Dist-	1,117
Mixed white and Asian	30.43	Dist-	239
Mixed white and black African	29.19	Merit+	143
Mixed white and black Caribbean	29.58	Merit+	308
Mixed other	30.88	Dist-	427
White	30.67	Dist-	21,266
White British	30.71	Dist-	19,923
White Irish	32.28	Dist-	63
Gypsy or Roma	23.92	Merit	26
Irish Traveller	23.89	Merit	2
White other	30.02	Dist-	1,252
Other	30.64	Dist-	410
Unknown	31.31	Dist-	1,493

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Average score for students taking A levels and other qualifications By ethnicity (tech level students only) Summary

In the 2021 to 2022 academic year, 7.8% of level 3 students took tech level qualifications.

The data shows that:

• the average point score for all students taking tech level qualifications was 30.56 (equivalent to ‘distinction minus’) – this includes students whose ethnicity was not known
• students from the Chinese ethnic group had the highest average point score out of all ethnic groups (34.85 – equivalent to ‘distinction’)
• students from the Traveller of Irish heritage ethnic group (23.89 – equivalent to ‘merit’) and the Gypsy and Roma ethnic group (23.92 – equivalent to a ‘merit’) had the lowest average point scores – this is based on 2 and 26 students respectively and is less reliable as a result
• the average point score of white British students was similar to the national average (30.71 – equivalent to ‘distinction minus’)

6. By ethnicity (level 2 technical certificate students only)

• Location: England
• Time period: 2021 to 2022 academic year
• Source: A level and other 16 to 18 results: 2022 (revised)

Average point score and equivalent grade, by ethnicity (level 2 technical certificate students only)

Ethnicity	Value	Grade	Number of students
All	5.88	L2Merit	1,404
Asian	5.64	L2Merit-	115
Bangladeshi	5.26	L2Pass+	15
Indian	6.26	L2Merit+	24
Pakistani	5.44	L2Pass+	59
Asian other	5.81	L2Merit-	17
Black	5.01	L2Pass	38
Black African	4.39	L1Dist+	14
Black Caribbean	5.43	L2Pass+	16
Black other	5.31	L2Pass+	8
Chinese	7.00	L2Dist	1
Mixed	5.70	L2Merit-	49
Mixed white and Asian	5.81	L2Merit-	13
Mixed white and black African	4.72	L2Pass-	9
Mixed white and black Caribbean	5.61	L2Merit-	15
Mixed other	6.47	L2Merit+	12
White	5.93	L2Merit	1,035
White British	5.93	L2Merit	976
White Irish	5.25	L2Pass+	4
Gypsy or Roma	6.00	L2Merit	1
Irish Traveller	6.00	L2Merit	1
White other	6.01	L2Merit	53
Other	6.31	L2Merit+	13
Unknown	5.91	L2Merit	153

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Average score for students taking A levels and other qualifications By ethnicity (level 2 technical certificate students only) Summary

Technical certificates are level 2 qualifications – they are not included in the total counts of students taking level 3 qualifications. In the 2021 to 2022 academic year, 1,404 students took approved level 2 technical certificates.

The data shows that:

• the average point score for all students taking level 2 technical certificates was 5.88 (equivalent to ‘level 2 merit’) – this includes students whose ethnicity was not known
• students from the black African ethnic group had the lowest average point score (4.39 – equivalent to ‘level 1 distinction plus’)
• the average point score of white British students was similar to the national average (5.93 – equivalent to ‘level 2 merit’)

7. Data sources

Source

A level and other 16 to 18 results: 2022 (revised)

Type of data

Administrative data

Type of statistic

National Statistics

Publisher

Department for Education

Note on corrections or updates

Data can be provisional, revised or final. Data for 2021 to 2022 is revised. Data for the 2 academic years ending in August 2021 is final.

Publication frequency

Yearly

Purpose of data source

The main purpose of this data is to measure the performance of schools and colleges and their students. This is to monitor and improve standards and inform parental and student choice.

8. Download the data

Average score for students taking A levels and other qualifications 2019 to 2022 - Spreadsheet (csv) 54 KB

This file contains the following: measure, ethnicity, ethnicity_type, time, time_type, geography, geography_type, geography_code, age, value_1, value_1_type, value_2, value_2_type, number_of_students and version

Publication release date: 23 November 2023

full page history

1. 23 November 2023 Updated with the latest available data (for the 2021 to 2022 academic year).

From: Department for Education

Previous editions:

1. 12 June 2023
2. 9 April 2021
3. 11 August 2020

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