New figures show that in the wake of the first exam diet since 2019 the number of pupils and schools querying grades rocketed, with one in 10 grades at National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher appealed in 2022.
The figures - published today - show that in the wake of exam results day in August the Scottish Qualifications Authority received over 58,000 appeals - meaning that students and schools took issue with 11 per cent of the grades issued at National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher.
Schools and students could only appeal if the teacher estimated grade was higher than the final grade achieved following the exams.
However, the vast majority of appeals - approximately 70 per cent - were unsuccessful.
Meanwhile around a third of the appeals - a total of 17,300 appeals - resulted in students receiving a higher grade.
As well as grades going up or staying the same, there was the possibility that a grade could go down but that happened in “fewer than five” instances, according to the SQA, all at Higher level.
Students sitting Advanced Highers were most likely to query their results: 15.6 per cent of entries were appealed. At Higher, 14 per cent of entries were appealed and at National 5, 8.8 per cent of entries were appealed.
Appeals at Advanced Higher were the least likely to be successful, with 75.5 per cent resulting in no change in grade.
At Higher, 66.9 per cent of appeals were unsuccessful and at National 5 that figure was 72.5 per cent.
The appeals process was free of charge this year and students also had a direct right of appeal, which meant they did not have to rely on their school to query their grade.
As a result, the process was quite different from the one in place the last time students sat full national exams in 2019, when there were charges for appeals and there was no direct route of appeal for students.
However, in 2019 the SQA received 11,528 appeals (2.3 per cent of entries), with around 85 per cent unsuccessful and resulting in no grade change.
In 2013, the last year before charging was introduced, the SQA received around 66,000 appeals.
The SQA said that almost 42,000 learners across Scotland were receiving the outcomes of their National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher appeals this week after schools and colleges were notified on Monday.
SQA chief executive Fiona Robertson said that the 2022 appeals service was the final part of the package of support put in place for learners last year in a bid to take account of the disruption caused by the pandemic.
She said it enabled those sitting exams and who didn’t perform at their best on the day to have other assessments gathered throughout the year taken into account.
Ms Robertson added: “When combined with the results in August, this year’s appeals outcomes reflect the strong set of results Scotland’s learners have achieved overall. Learners have shown incredible resilience and commitment, and everyone in Scotland’s education community has worked hard to support their efforts.
“I would encourage those learners who didn’t receive the appeal outcomes they hoped for this year to talk to their teacher or lecturer about their next steps in learning.”
Final attainment statistics for the 2022 national qualifications, taking into account the outcome of appeals, will be published in December.
If a learner’s grade has changed, they will receive their new certificate by post later this month.
