Appeals procedures for GCSE and A level examinations
If you, a colleague, a student or their parents, are concerned about the grades a student has been awarded in public examinations, it is possible to query the results. For both GCSEs and A levels this is a simple process comprising enquiries and appeals. Querying grades can result in the marks being raised, reconfirmed at the same level, or lowered (a change introduced in summer 2001).
The process of querying GCSE, A and AS level results can involve a maximum of three steps:
- An enquiry to the awarding body from the school (or examining centre), to
be made as soon as possible after the results have been received, up to a
deadline of 20 September. The awarding bodies have their own arrangements
for handling such enquiries, and they all charge a fee for doing
so. Enquiries can trigger re-checking of grades, re-moderation of
coursework, or remarking of sat papers. For this reason not least,
candidates must give their permission for an enquiry to be submitted about
their results.
- A formal appeal to the awarding body, in the form of a written submission
from the head of the school (or centre). Appeals must be submitted to the
bodies within two weeks of the outcome of the enquiry having been
received. Appellants will be notified of the outcome within 10 weeks by
means of a decision letter, and by no later than 14 February.
- A formal appeal to the Examinations Appeals Board (EAB), again in the form of a written submission from the school's (or centre's) head. The EAB is an independent body set up in 1999 to hear appeals against exam results which cannot satisfactorily be resolved by the awarding bodies. Appeals to the EAB must be made within three weeks of the awarding body's appeal decision being received.
In March 2001 the QCA reported that out of the 5.6 million GCSEs taken in summer 2001, enquiries were made involving 45,000 subject entries (0.8% of all entries), resulting in 7,600 entries receiving a grade change (0.1% of all entries).
Of the 776,000 A Level entries in 2001, enquiries were made involving 22,500 subject entries (2.6%) with 4,200 receiving a grade change (0.5% of all entries).
It is worth noting that on rare occasions an awarding body can order a remark of certain entries without notifying candidates. This could be on account of possible inconsistencies between markers' grading. In such cases, grades can only be raised or confirmed, not lowered.
There are three unitary awarding bodies offering general qualifications in
England: AQA, Edexcel and OCR. QCA recognises and
regulates awarding bodies and their qualifications, to maintain the reliability
of the national qualifications framework within the United Kingdom.
Last updated: 30 October 2006
