Number of grades in England changed after appeal rises by 800 per cent, data shows

More than 4,000 marks have been modified since summer, according to Ofqual figures

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The number of GCSE, AS and A-level grades  in England that changed following an appeal rose by around 800 per cent this year, provisional figures show.

Exams were cancelled this year over coronavirus and a new grading system set up, awarding students with calculated grades. Pupils were allowed to take their original teacher predicted marks, following backlash over the system.

In total, 4,650 GCSE, AS and A-level grades handed out in England last summer have been changed following an appeal, new data from Ofqual, England’s exam regulator, shows.

This is an increase of more than 800 per cent compared to the previous academic year, when 516 were changed.

Meanwhile, the number of grades challenged this year rose by more than 880 per cent, according to Ofqual’s statistics. 

More than 27,800 GCSE marks and 3,600 AS and A-level marks from this summer were challenged, the exam regulator said - compared to around 2,100 and 1,000 for the 2018-2019 academic year. 

Publishing the figures, Ofqual said: “Due to the exceptional nature of the appeals process in summer 2020, direct comparisons of appeals in summer 2020 and previous years will not be valid and need to be treated with caution.”

The exam regulator said: “There were additional grounds for appeals in summer 2020, including where the exam board did not apply its procedures properly and fairly or where the data used by the exam board to calculate results contained an error.”

A student could not appeal a grade because they disagreed with their school or college’s estimation of what they would have achieved had they have taken an exam, Ofqual said.

Under the original grading system set up for exams last summer, teachers submitted grades they estimated students would have achieved in exams for standardisation.

Student protests followed A-level results day, which saw nearly 40 per cent of marks downgraded in the controversial moderation process.

In a U-turn days after A-level results came out, the government announced A-level and GCSE pupils could use their teacher-estimated marks — Centre Assessed Grades (CAGs) – if higher than moderated marks.

The government plans for exams in England to go ahead next year, with most taking place slightly later than usual. 

Students will also have their GCSE and A-levels marked more generously next year, the education secretary announced earlier this month, along with other changes aimed at making grading as fair as possible amid the pandemic.