Teachers are “systematically” predicting better A-level grades for girls, with the “unconscious” practice suggesting it could be time to revisit the debate on post-qualification admissions, according to a study.
The analysis of some 351,373 pupils in England finds girls may be benefiting from a “halo effect”, in which their broader approach to classroom engagement and their academic behaviour influences their expected exam results – even when their male peers went on to achieve the same results in the end.
When analysing three university cycles between 2017 and 2019, on average, girls received predictions between one-tenth and one-fifth of a grade higher than boys – a difference that in many cases could tip them over a grade boundary.
Economist Konstantina Maragkou, an assistant research professor at the University of Cambridge’s Faculty of Education and the study’s lead author, said: “It is very unlikely that teachers deliberately predict better results for girls, but they may be relying on an impression of student characteristics which can lead to gendered predictions.
“We need to think carefully about how fair that is for young people when the stakes are so high.”
