27th February 2014 9:00
By Blue Tutors
Exams regulator Ofqual has complained that schools are requesting high numbers of re-marks for exams in a tactical bid to improve results. A report produced by the exams watchdog said that schools were playing the system by requesting remarks for GCSE and A’ level papers with results just below grade boundaries. They said that head teachers viewed high numbers of remarks as a safe bet in these cases as obtaining a remark was likely to lead to a grade increase, and would not adversely affect the student. Referring to the tactic as making a ‘one-way bet’, Ofqual said that the exams appeals system needed to be reformed.
Ofqual has conducted a review of marking practices which showed that they were sound in England, but acknowledged that teachers’ confidence in the marking system was declining. They said that the problem stemmed from increasing pressure on schools to perform well in league tables. The requirement that schools ensure that at least 40% of students achieve grades A*-C English and Maths has contributed to the rising number of requests for remarks, with schools hoping that papers will be marked up from D grades to C. Ofqual admitted that there is necessarily a degree of subjectivity involved in marking, and said that schools are aware of this and will know that there is always a possibility that grades will change on a re-mark. The degree of importance that is assigned to grades will mean that schools will continue to want to find ways to improve them wherever they can.
Reviewing the practice of re-marking, Ofsted said that the majority of requests for re-marking were for papers on the C-D grade boundary, with 40% of appeals coming from this group. This is a further indication that the pressure put on schools to achieve C grades and above throughout the student population is responsible for the high number of re-marks requested. In the A’ Level group, papers on the A-B boarder line were most likely to be returned for re-marking, reflecting the pressure on students to achieve top grade for university entrance. Ofqual have concluded that the exams appeals system was designed in a ‘more innocent era’, when making tactical requests for re-marks was not the norm.