This summer, around six million grades will be awarded in England of which about 1.5 million will be mistaken, but they cannot be discovered or corrected. Dennis Sherwood says it’s time to reform Ofqual’s appeals process
On April 18, Ofqual published its Official Student Guide (Ofqual, 2023). Under the heading, What to do if you think there is a mistake in your results, it states: “If you think there has been a mistake in the marking of your exams or assessments, you should talk to your school or college. Your school or college can ask the awarding organisation to check if there were any errors in how your exam or assessment was marked.”
It sounds reassuring: any student who fears that there has been a mistake can get the marking checked.
Phew! That’s a relief! And reference to any of the exam boards’ websites will confirm that a “review of marking” will discover, and subsequently correct, any “genuine marking errors or unreasonable marking” (to quote AQA).
