One thing that concerns me slightly about contexualisation of grades is that in effect you are allowing some one from a deprived with slightly lower grades to enter a university.
As others have mentioned it's about recognising that people from deprived backgrounds are at a disadvantage. It's often done on postcode and school attended and is the recognition that someone getting ABB from a poor achieving school is equivalent to AAA from a high performing school. It's not about lowering standards or just letting anyone in...
If the number of places at elite universities are constant (approximately) then allowing a student from a deprived background to enter with a reduced tariff will mean that someone from a more conventional background to lose out.
But young people from deprived backgrounds have been missing out for decades. It's about ensuring anyone with the potential and ability has the opportunity to attend an elite university regardless of their background. Parental income is still the biggest indicator of future earnings and success.
For instancence two Cambridge applicants (one from a deprived background one from traditional) narrowly miss out on places due to grades but there is contexualusation offered to the deprived one of the two so a place is made for her bot not for the other applicant?
I can see how contextualisation of grades can be perceived as a form if positive discrimination by some
Positive discrimination is illegal. It's about levelling the playing field. The offer is only one part of the application process and they aren't getting a place just because they're from a deprived background. They're still getting there on merit and it's a competitive process.
In a sense this may allow some resentment to build up amongst traditional applicants especially when some of the contexulisation criteria are vague as well as its application.
It's often clear how the contextualised offers are made. Universities have an obligation to be clear and transparent about their application process.
There is a need to allow more working class children with the appropriate ability to attend elite universities but I think the solution is to expand the number of places rather than modifying entry standards (even if done for entirely laudable reasons)
Until relatively recently universities were subject to student number controls meaning they were told by the government how many students they could recruit with huge fines for over recruitment.
Those controls have been removed but universities still only have a finite amount of space. You can only over recruit by so many before student satisfaction and teaching quality starts to be compromised.
When oxbridge proudly state ever increasing proportions of state school applicants how do the parents of children at independent schools feel when their children narrowly miss out on places ? Would it not be natural to feel some sort of discrimination is at play?
There has been discrimination at play for generations but it's not against students from independent schools!! Like I said, it's about levelling the playing field. Attending an independent school should not be a free pass into an elite university. Widening participation and contextual offers isn't about stopping advantaged people from getting into elite universities it's about ensuring those from disadvantaged backgrounds get a fair shot at it too....