Cambridge Assessment spotted major flaws in the exam grading algorithm and reported them to the Department of Education two weeks before the results were published in England.

The Daily Mail report said that Education Secretary Gavin Williamson had been warned about the exam's major flaws before the A-level grading was released on Aug. 13.

Cambridge Assessment, which operates one of the main exam boards OCR, submitted evidence to the education committee in July. However, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) advised Cambridge that appeals could fix the algorithm problems. 

The first notice was provided two weeks before the release of A-level results, while another warning was made days before GCSE results were published.

Cambridge Assessment's group director of research Tim Oates, said that DfE officials were eager to hear the issues his organization uncovered. "The DfE responded swiftly and energetically, taking our analysis extremely seriously," Oates told the Guardian.

Oates' team found some flaws in the Ofqual's model that punish outliers or talented students in large schools with poor track records as well as average students who gain Cs but got a failing U grade by the algorithm.

Moreover, Cambridge Assessment proposed the delay and rerun of GCSE results, but Ofqual took a different course of action. However, Ofqual Chairman Roger Taylor later announced that both A-levels and GCSE grades would be based on school assessments.

Ofqual acknowledged Cambridge Assessment and OCR's role throughout the process of the algorithm's development, testing, and quality assurance. However, it said the warnings came a day after A-level results were released. Yet, explained that since no appeals process would provide a satisfactory result to this issue, "Ofqual ended up returning to center-assessed grades."

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Education secretary apologizes for 'inconsistent and unfair' A-level results

Former Department for Education director-general Sir Jon Coles also warned Williamson about a month before it was axed that the algorithm would be unfair for poorer pupils. The Ofqual is an algorithm used to calculate grades without grade inflation. It was later sacked after triggering anger during the process.

On Tuesday, Sept. 1, Williamson apologized to students who endured 'a great deal of stress and uncertainty' brought by the 'inconsistent and unfair' A-level outcomes.

Ofqual has not yet decided on the 2021 exam schedule after it initiated a consultation in July to delay the GCSE exams to Jun. 7.  

Taylor will be grilled by senior members of the parliamentary and the Commons education committee on Sept. 2 amid the A-levels fiasco, anger over GCSE, and the indecision over the 2021 exam schedule.

Meanwhile, the public has urged the education secretary to ensure that 'a summer of incompetence' due to exams will not lead to autumn of 'disaster and dismay.'

Williamson told MPs that the government will push through the exams will in 2021 as they are working with the education sector to make sure 'this is done as smoothly as possible.'

Ofqual chief regulator Sally Collier resigned on Aug. 25 as she already "reached the end of the line."

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Written by CJ Robles