This morning, Ofqual published new figures on the number of appeals for the summer 2017 exam series. Here are some of the most interesting findings:

1. Exam appeals up: The number of appeals rose for both A levels and GCSEs. At A level, appeals increased from 188 in 2016 to 325 in 2017. At GCSE, they increased from 114 to 272. Ofqual said this could be the result of “new grounds of appeal…in addition to the inclusion of appeals related to malpractice or reasonable adjustment/special considerations in the 2017 figure”.
    
2. Upheld appeals also increased: The proportion of appeals that are upheld has also risen. Across both qualifications, the total number of appeals upheld rose from 62 out of 302 in 2016 (20.5 per cent) to 275 out of 597 (46 per cent). Ofqual said this could be due to the fact that last summer it announced a new right to appeal results after the exam board’s initial review if schools continued to have concerns about errors in marking or moderation.
    
3. An increasing number of grades have been changed as a result: The number of A and AS-level grades that were changed as a result of an appeal more than tripled, from 53 in 2016 to 171 in 2017. But at GCSE, the number of grades changed due to an appeal declined from 150 to 92.
    
4. But that is still a very small proportion of all grades awarded: Of the 6.6 million qualifications certified in summer 2017, Ofqual said just 0.004 per cent were changed due to an appeal.
    
5. The proportion of appeals processed by the target deadline has decreased: In 2017, exam boards set a target timescale of five weeks to complete a preliminary appeal from the receipt of the application, and 10 weeks to complete an appeal hearing from the receipt of a request for an appeal hearing (previously the deadline was 50 days for both). The proportion of A level preliminary appeals completed within the new target timescale declined by 29 percentage points, while the proportion of appeal hearings completed within the deadline increased by 33 percentage points. At GCSE, the proportion of preliminary appeals and appeal hearings completed within the target timescale declined by 38 and 41 percentage points respectively.