Universities should take spelling and grammar into account when marking exams, England’s regulator says

Universities should take spelling and grammar into account when marking exams, according to England’s higher education regulator.

The Office for Students (OfS) said some instutitions have interpreted equality legislation in a way that means they do not assess technical proficiency in written English for all students.

“We do not consider that approach to be necessary or justified,” the regulator added in a report.

The National Union of Students (NUS) said education was “much broader” than spelling and grammar in response to the suggestion.

The OfS said it found some “common themes” that gave it “cause for regulatory concern” in its report looking at how spelling, grammar and punctuation is assessed at universities in England.

Some universities had policies where proficiency in written English is often not taken into account, it said, warning this could lead to “unexplained” grade inflation.

“Introducing these policies may have lowered standards, which in turn may have contributed to greater proportions of students being awarded higher degree classifications,” the report said.

Last year, an analysis from the OfS found that the proportion of graduates who attained top degrees rose from around 15 per cent in the 2010-11 academic year to 29.5 per cent in 2018-19’s year, prompting concerns about grade inflation.

Students should be assessed on spelling, punctuation and grammar in order to maintain quality and protect standards, the watchdog urged in its report published on Thursday.

Susan Lapworth, director of regulation at the OfS, said: “Some universities and colleges ask academics to ignore poor spelling, punctuation and grammar to make assessment more inclusive.”

“The idea that they should expect less from certain groups of students is patronising. It threatens to undermine standards as well as public confidence in the value of a degree.”

Ms Lapworth added: “It risks placing new graduates at a disadvantage in the labour market, and could leave employers spending time and money training graduates in basic written English.”

“There is no inconsistency in a provider complying with equality legislation and making its assessments accessible, while also maintaining rigour in spelling, punctuation and grammar,” the OfS report said.

From October 2022, the watchdog has said it will take action against universities or colleges where their assessment approaches “lack rigour”.

But Hillary Gyebi-Ababio from the NUS said education was “so much broader” than spelling and grammer in response to the report.

“Any proposals to change existing practices must take into account the lived experiences of those with dyslexia,” the union’s vice president for higher educatin added.

“Rather than reforming assessment practices and tinkering at the edges of our education system, we must re-envision education, and accept that our examination system needs fundamental transformation.”

A Universities UK (UUK) spokesperson said universities fully recognise the importance of English language proficiency.”

“As the OfS notes, this report refers to a small number of universities. The OfS also recognises that practices will differ across the large and diverse university sector, and there is no evidence in what has been presented to suggest the practices causing concern are the norm.”

Michelle Donelan, higher and further education minister, said: “Rigour and standards matter at all stages of education, and the fundamentals of good spelling, punctuation and grammar are as important today as they ever were.”

She added: “It is right that the Office for Students is putting universities which disregard poor written English on notice.”

Additional reporting by Press Association