Official Statistics

Background information for appeals for GCSE, AS, A level and Project qualifications: 2021 to 2022 academic year

Published 4 May 2023

Applies to England

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/appeals-for-gcse-as-a-level-and-project-2021-to-2022-academic-year/background-information-for-appeals-for-gcse-as-a-level-and-project-qualifications-2021-to-2022-academic-year

Purpose

In this release, Ofqual presents data on appeals for GCSE, AS, A level, and Project qualifications during the 2021 to 2022 academic year. The report covers all the opportunities to enter for the qualifications during the academic year: autumn 2021, November 2021 and June 2022 for GCSE qualifications; autumn 2021 and June 2022 for AS and A level qualifications; and autumn 2021, November 2021, January 2022 and June 2022 for Project qualifications.

Geographical coverage

The accompanying report presents data on the number of appeals in England. Four awarding organisations offer GCSE, AS, A level and Project qualifications in England:

  • AQA Education (AQA)

  • Oxford Cambridge and RSA Examinations (OCR)

  • Pearson Education Ltd (Pearson)

  • WJEC-CBAC Ltd (WJEC/Eduqas)

While ASDAN and City and Guilds also offer Project qualifications, no appeals were reported for their qualifications in the academic year 2021 to 2022.

Appeals in summer 2020 and summer 2021

In summer 2020 and summer 2021, exams were cancelled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and, as a result, the standard post-results services, including reviews of marking, were not available and a different appeals process was in place each year. For further information on appeals arrangements in these years please see the background notes of previous publications. Due to the exceptional nature of grading and the appeals process in summer 2020 and summer 2021, comparisons of appeals in the academic year 2021 to 2022 and these years are not valid.

Appeals in exam series other than summer 2020 and summer 2021

Summer 2022 saw the return of exams, with a package of support in place for students. The approach to grading led to overall results in 2022 being midway between results in 2021 and 2019. In the 2021 to 2022 academic year, the standard post result services were available for all exam series for the first time since 2018 to 2019.

Other than summer 2020 and summer 2021, if a school or college was not satisfied with the result of a review of marking, review of moderation, a malpractice decision, or a judgement on reasonable adjustments or special consideration, and/or if they believed the awarding organisation had made a procedural error, it could make an appeal to the awarding organisation. The GCSE and GCE Qualification Level Conditions and Requirements (the Conditions) covering GCSE A* to G and 9 to 1 and Conditions covering A level and AS legacy and reformed qualifications also require awarding organisations to accept appeals requests directly from private candidates. An appeal could be in relation to the outcomes of one or more candidates, if they were all thought to have been affected by the same issue.

Schools and colleges could submit appeals regarding an awarding organisation’s decisions about malpractice if they believed the awarding organisation did not follow its procedures, the decision was unreasonable given existing evidence, the sanction was disproportionate or if new evidence came to light. Schools and colleges could also submit appeals related to reasonable adjustments and special consideration if they believed the awarding organisation did not follow its procedures.

Under JCQ rules, the awarding organisations operate a 2-stage appeals process:

  1. A preliminary appeal (formerly referred to as a ‘stage 1’ appeal) is a review of the case by a senior member of the awarding organisation who has not been involved previously with the particular case.

  2. An appeal hearing (formerly referred to as a ‘stage 2’ appeal) involves applicants and awarding organisations presenting their case to a panel, which the awarding organisation convenes. The panel comprises at least 3 members, one of whom must be independent from the awarding organisation (meaning they have not been an employee, examiner, committee or board member of the awarding organisation in the previous 5 years). A school or college can request an appeal hearing only after going through a preliminary appeal.

Although Ofqual’s Conditions do not require it, in 2017, awarding organisations committed to completing a preliminary appeal in 5 calendar weeks and an appeal hearing in 10 calendar weeks from the receipt of the request for an appeal hearing (previously the target was 50 days for either process). This was extended in 2019 so the target timescale for a preliminary appeal was 6 calendar weeks and an appeal hearing remained 10 calendar weeks. In some cases, appeals are not resolved in the target timescale. Sometimes, this occurs to allow a fair appeal hearing with appropriate evidence, or for individuals to be present from both the school or college and the awarding organisation.

The Examination Procedures Review Service

If a school or college, or private candidate, is still dissatisfied with the outcome following an appeal, they can apply to Ofqual’s Examination Procedures Review Service (EPRS) within 21 days of receiving the appeal outcome from the awarding organisation. Ofqual reviews each application and looks at whether the awarding organisation has followed the appropriate procedures and used them properly and fairly.

If the awarding organisation has not followed its own procedures or has not secured the outcomes required by Ofqual’s regulations, the application to EPRS may be upheld. Awarding organisations must give due regard to the outcome of EPRS hearings, both in respect of results issued to the candidate making the application and, where appropriate, other potentially affected results.

Changes to the reporting of appeals

Prior to the 2021 to 2022 academic year, a single appeal may relate to one or more units for the qualification grade challenged. This is not relevant for June 2020 or June 2021 where appeals were submitted at qualification level. From the 2021 to 2022 academic year, reporting changed so that all appeals are submitted at component level. For this reason, direct comparisons between 2021 to 2022 and previous academic years for the number of appeals received, upheld and leading to a grade change may not be valid and need to be treated with caution.

Data source

AQA, OCR, Pearson and WJEC/Eduqas provide data on appeals requested for all GCSE, AS, A level and Project assessments taken during each exam series in England on an annual basis. ASDAN and City and Guilds also provide data on appeals requested for Project qualifications.

Limitations

Ofqual expects awarding organisations to send correct data, although it cannot guarantee that the data sent are correct. Summary data is sent to awarding organisations for checking and confirmation. The figures reported for the summer 2022 series reflect the status of appeals at the data cut-off date of 20 February 2023. Appeals reported for the autumn 2021 series reflect the status of appeals at the data cut-off date of 20 June 2022 for AS and A level, and 9 August 2022 for GCSE. Lastly, appeals reported for the November 2021 GCSE series reflect the status of appeals at the data cut-off date of 26 July 2022.

Revisions

Once published, data are not usually subject to revision, although subsequent releases may be revised to insert late data or to correct an error.

Confidentiality and rounding

The number of appeals and grade changes have been rounded to the nearest 5 to preserve confidentiality. The figures between 1 and 4 have been denoted as “fewer than 5” and 0 represents zero value. Total values of rows or columns are calculated using unrounded figures, so the sum of rounded figures may differ from the total reported. All percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number.

As a result of rounded figures, the percentages (calculated on actual figures) shown in any tables may not necessarily add up to 100.

Quality assurance

Quality assurance procedures are carried out as explained in the Quality Assurance Framework for Statistical Publications published by Ofqual to ensure the accuracy of the data and to challenge or question it, where necessary. Publication may be deferred if the statistics are not considered fit for purpose.

Status

These statistics are classified as Official Statistics.

Two other statistical releases and publications relate to this one:

Feedback

We welcome your feedback on our publications. Should you have any comments on this statistical release and how to improve it to meet your needs, please contact us at data.analytics@ofqual.gov.uk.

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