The consistency of marking varies across subjects and between individual subject units, the exams watchdog has stated.
Announcing the findings of new research today, Ofqual says there is “room for improvement” in marking consistency.
Ofqual this afternoon published summaries of five research reports, which it commissioned to look into the quality of marking.
One of the studies explores marking consistency. “We found varying levels of marking consistency across subjects and between individual subject units,” states Ofqual.
“The results confirm our belief that marking is generally good across the system, albeit there is room for improvement in some specific areas.”
The regulator says it wants exam boards to “reflect on these results and make appropriate changes to question design and mark schemes for future series”.
Another piece of research focuses on online standardisation of markers. According to Ofqual, the research identifies “good practices that could be more consistently adopted to improve the experience and performance of examiners”.
This includes receiving “personal feedback by phone after being approved to begin marking and receiving confirmation that they are awarding marks on the same basis (as well as the right mark) as intended”.
A third piece of research looks at marking-consistency metrics and finds that “marking consistency remained stable in England between 2013 and 2017”.
Commenting on the research, Ofqual chief regulator Sally Collier said: “Our latest research confirms that the quality of marking of GCSEs, AS and A levels in England is good, and compares favourably with other examination systems internationally.
“But we must not be complacent. We must continually strive for marking in every subject to be the very best it can be.”
She added: “We will reflect further on our own rules and expectations in the light of this work. And we also want exam boards to consider today’s findings and take both concerted and independent actions in response.
“This will ensure public confidence in these qualifications, that are taken by more than a million students each year, is maintained or enhanced.”