Just over a third of headteachers say that the marking of GCSE exams is accurate - a smaller proportion than said the same a year ago, an Ofqual survey shows.
In a poll conducted in late 2023, 36 per cent of headteachers agreed with the statement “the marking of GCSEs is accurate” and 40 per cent disagreed. The proportion who agreed represented a fall of 10 percentage points from the year before, when 46 per cent agreed.
In 2021 more than half of heads (54 per cent) agreed that GCSE marking was accurate.
Meanwhile, this year half of teachers (50 per cent) agreed that GCSE marking was accurate, down from 55 per cent last year and 57 per cent in 2021.
Less faith in GCSE marking
Ofqual’s Perceptions of A levels, GCSEs and Other Qualifications survey has been carried out annually since 2003. This year’s sample included 278 heads (including deputy heads) and 689 teachers, as well as young people, parents, academics, employers and members of the public.
The proportion of heads and teachers agreeing that on-screen GCSE and A-level exams would be more manageable for schools than pen and paper exams decreased slightly.
Just under a fifth of heads agreed with this (19 per cent), compared with 22 per cent last year.
Among teachers, 59 per cent disagreed that online exams would be more manageable for schools, compared with 51 per cent last year.
Several exam boards have put forward proposals for moving some GCSE and A-level exams online over the next few years. However, these are yet to receive Ofqual regulatory approval.
Meanwhile, more than half of heads and teachers (57 per cent) agreed that the right special consideration arrangements are being made for GCSE and A-level students - a slightly bigger proportion than the 52 per cent a year earlier.
Similarly, just over half of heads and teachers agreed that the right reasonable adjustments are being made for students with disabilities.
Ofqual data previously revealed that 700,600 special consideration requests were made for last year’s summer GCSE, AS- and A-level exams - up 19 per cent on the year before.
Mark adjustments were also up by just over a quarter (26 per cent) on the year before.
Confidence in GCSEs and A levels
Despite the scepticism over marking, a majority of both heads and teachers agreed that GCSEs are a trusted qualification.
Confidence in GCSEs remained fairly constant compared with previous years. with an average score of 3.44 out of 5 for heads and 3.51 for teachers.
General confidence in A levels slightly increased compared with last year - from 3.71 to 3.86 for heads and from 3.68 to 3.8 for teachers.
However, nearly a third of both heads and teachers disagreed with the statement “GCSE standards are maintained year-on-year”.
A House of Lords committee report last year warned that the education system for 11- to 16-year-olds is too focused on academic learning and written exams.
Peers recommended reducing external assessment at key stage 4 and that the English Baccalaureate performance measure should be scrapped.
An Ofqual spokesperson said: “This report demonstrates overall confidence in GCSEs is very strong. Students can be confident in their results.
“Only 1 per cent of grades are changed following challenge. Exam boards are focused on maintaining high standards and further improving the quality of marking.”
A spokesperson for the Joint Council for Qualifications said: “This report finds that, overall, perceptions of marking accuracy in GCSEs were as consistent in this report as they were in the three previous reports.”
The spokesperson added that all examiners go through rigorous training before they can begin marking, and checks and comparison are carried out at various stages.
The survey also showed that teachers know how to make mark review requests and believe the process is fair, the spokesperson added.
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