The number of grade changes for GCSEs, AS and A levels has risen by 152 per cent according to new data published by Ofqual today. 

Meanwhile, the number of appeals increased by 45 per cent. The regulator said the increases are likely due to how new grounds for appeal were extended to all GCSEs in 2018-19.

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Appeals can be submitted by a school if it is unsatisfied with the result of a review of marking or moderation, a malpractice decision, or the outcome of a review of reasonable adjustment, or special consideration.

Following a pilot in 2015-16, new grounds for appeal were introduced where a school believes there still to be a marking error following a review of marking or review of moderation, or that a further error was made at the review stage. The new grounds were introduced in 2016-17 for all A levels, 2017-18 for GCSE English language, English literature and mathematics and in 2018-19 was extended to all remaining GCSEs.

“The pilot found that the additional grounds of appeal provided a better opportunity for errors in marking to be identified and corrected and is likely to have resulted in an increase in the number of appeals from 2016-17 onwards. Therefore, it is difficult to make direct comparisons across years,” the regulator said.

Today’s figures from Ofqual show that the number of grades changed increased by 152 per cent to 512. At GCSE, grades changed due to an appeal increased this year from 149 to 317, while at AS and A level, grade changes due to an appeal increased from 54 to 195.

“This is likely to be a reflection of the increased proportion of submitted appeals that were upheld,” the regulator said.

And the number of appeals in 2018-19 was 1,240, an increase of 45 per cent from the previous year when there were 857 appeals.

A total of 3,159 grades were challenged in 2018-19 an increase of 124 per cent from the previous year, and the number of appeals upheld in 2018-19 was 675, an increase of 66 per cent from 2017-18 where there were 406 appeals upheld. 

The number of GCSE appeals increased from 489 to 763 this year, an increase of 56 per cent, while the number of A level and AS appeals increased from 368 in 2017-18 to 477 in 2018-19, an increase of 30 per cent. 

The regulator said that the most common reason for appeals were concerning potential marking errors.