Appeals over teacher assessed GCSE and A-level grades awarded last summer more than quadrupled compared to 2020 after students were allowed to appeal based on the academic judgement used, data released by Ofqual today reveals.
Teacher assessed grades (TAGs) were used to determine grades for GCSE and A-level results in 2021 after exams were cancelled due to Covid.
Data published by Ofqual today shows the number of appeals received, appeals upheld and appeals leading to grade changes increased sharply for GCSEs in summer 2021.
The exams regulator said this was due to the change in summer 2021 exams to allow students to appeal results if they thought an “unreasonable academic judgement” had been made by their school.
In total, 17,490 GCSE, AS and A-level grades were challenged by pupils in 2021, compared to 3,570 the year before.
Most of the appeals challenged teachers’ academic judgment of pupils’ work, which were used to justify the grades awarded.
Nearly 5,000 GCSE grades were challenged over the teacher’s decision on the final grade, while 3,465 were challenged on the basis of the examples of a pupil’s work used to justify the grade awarded.
At AS and A level, 4,245 results were appealed on the basis of the grade awarded, and 3,065 challenged teachers on the selection of work they had chosen to justify a grade.
A total of 9,180 appeals of GCSE grades were received in summer 2021 compared with 2,220 in 2020. However, less than half (40 per cent) were upheld, compared with 85 per cent in summer 2020, after an algorithm used to moderate grades was ditched in favour of centre assessed grades (CAGs) following an outcry.
Most of the 3,655 GCSE result appeals upheld led to a grade change (3,320).
This compares with summer 2020 when 1,875 appeals were upheld and 1,855 appeals received led to a grade change.
A total of 6,820 AS and A-level grades were challenged in 2021, compared with 1,355 the previous year.
In total, 5,250 pupils had their GCSE or A-level grade changed in 2021 following an appeal. At GCSE, 77% of grades changed by one grade, with 80% of grades changing by one grade at A level.
Education secretary Nadhim Zahawi said this month that he is committed to exams going ahead this summer, despite one in four teachers reporting staff absence having a major impact on their schools and Year 11 pupils missing half a day of schooling per week.
Earlier this week, headteachers called for the earlier release of material designed to help students sitting exams this summer, but the Department for Education confirmed this morning that mitigations, including advance notice of exam topics, will be published by exam boards on 7 February.
