8th October 2014 1:00
By Blue Tutors
Exams regulator Ofqual has said that four out of five headteachers believe that many GCSE students at their schools are given the wrong grades. Ofqual conducted a survey of 230 headteachers and found that a large number felt that marking accuracy had fallen dramatically over the past year. The survey also identified a concern that grade boundaries were not set properly. 79% of headteachers said that they did not believe that all GCSE students were given the right grade, and they also expressed similar concerns about A Level grading. The report has highlighted growing concerns that GCSE and A Level results are not being correctly marked, after this summer brought a set of unexpected results for many schools.
Headteachers have been expressing increasing concerns over exam marking, with the issue reaching a peak this summer. Many exam results this year were very unexpected, and schools have sent more papers back for re-marking than ever before. The re-marks have confirmed that something is very wrong, with many papers being graded up by over 12 whole marks. Ofqual also noted concerns that many schools cannot afford to pay for so many re-marks, and that as a result many students were missing out on university and college places due to poor marking. Looking into exam markers, Ofqual found that many were being asked to take on hundreds more exam papers than they had originally agreed to mark, and that some were being asked to grade papers in subjects which they had little knowledge of themselves.
Ofqual concluded that constant change in the exam system at GCSE and A Level is the most common cause for concern at all levels, from schools to parents and students. The survey showed that 67% of headteachers had lost confidence in the exams regulator due to inconsistent grading. Their report highlighted differences between perceptions of GCSE and A Level, with many teachers still feeling that the A level was a trusted exam despite problems, but that GCSEs were no longer considered to be a reliable qualification. The exams regulator also noted the extreme stress that the changes to the exam system have placed on teachers and students.