1/6. The dog that hasn't barked. Ofqual has published conclusions about the social and economic status of A-level candidates using DfE data that doesn't include private school students (c10% of total candidates). See Pages 143 and 150 of this document https://www.gov.uk/government/news/guide-to-as-and-a-level-results-for-england-2020

2/6. On Page 150 of the report (and in the Exec Summary), Ofqual say "There is no evidence that the process of awarding grades has been biased for or against students from different socio-economic backgrounds". But Table 10.7 reports an "unknown" status for 16.1% of entries

3/6. Similar statements and similar 16.1% unknowns are reported in other sections. 73,075 entries unknown. It's quite a lot

Track back to Page 143. Ofqual explain they used the National Pupil Database to access data on social economic status, free school meals, ethnicity etc

4/6. Ofqual's dataset for gender and prior attainment is 100% complete. See Page 145. The awarding bodies collect and supply this data

5/6. The National Pupil Database is built up from the school census which only covers 30% of the population over 16 (state-funded school sixth forms). Ofqual don't explain the scope of the data they had but highly likely the status of private school candidates was "unknown

6/6. This suggests Ofqual reached a conclusion about social economic status on insufficient data. Given that the Scottish U-turn was prompted by socio-economic data, this is quite an oversight. Here's AoC's call for a review https://www.aoc.co.uk/news/aoc-calls-urgent-review-level-standardisation-process-many-colleges-have-over-half-their-grades