Enquiries about Results and Appeals

What provision is available?

Whilst awarding bodies make every effort to ensure that all results issued to candidates are accurate, there are inevitably occasions where candidates and/or their teachers suspect that a result is wrong. In such cases, it is possible to request the awarding body to carry out one of its enquiry about results (EAR) services. If not satisfied with the outcome of the EAR, the next stage is to submit an appeal through the awarding body's appeals process. Only if dissatisfied with the outcome of this appeal is it permissible to make an appeal to the External Appeals Board, an independent appeals body.

Submitting enquiries about results

All awarding bodies offer common results enquiry services for all GCE, AEA, VCE, GNVQ and GCSE examinations. Results enquiry requests are not accepted from individual candidates unless they are private candidates. All other enquiries about results must be submitted by the school or college that originally entered the candidate for the specification concerned.

Service 1

Service 1 is a clerical re-check of the marks awarded and of the processing of these marks into an overall grade. The re-check covers all components or units of the specification. Checks are carried out to ensure that all marks have been accurately calculated and recorded, that any appropriate adjustments to marks have been implemented and that the grade thresholds have been applied correctly.

Service 2

Service 2 is a re-mark of any externally assessed units or components. An experienced and reliable examiner re-marks the assessment, applying the same mark scheme or marking criteria as were used for the primary marking. This service is offered on a priority basis in cases where a candidate's place in further or higher education depends on the outcome of the re-mark.

Access to scripts

In conjunction with Services 1 and 2 it is possible to request a photocopy of the relevant script(s) for those components or units where it has been agreed that candidates should have access to scripts. In circumstances where there is no access to scripts arrangement, a report on the re-marked assessment(s) may be requested in conjunction with Service 2.

Informed consent

The outcome of Services 1 or 2 may lead to candidates' marks and grades being confirmed, raised or lowered. Consequently all candidates are required to give their informed consent before either of these services is conducted. The head of their school or college must ensure that they have signed a consent form and that the form is stored securely.

Service 3

Service 3 is a re-moderation of the sample of coursework originally assessed by the school or college and is requested when the centre disagrees with its marks being adjusted. A senior moderator repeats the moderation exercise, using the same sample of work as was used by the original moderator. The outcome may be that the moderator confirms the first moderator's scaling recommendations, or that he/she changes the scaling, either upwards or downwards. Candidates' marks may therefore be confirmed, raised or lowered as a result of the Service 3 re-moderation. Their grades may also be confirmed or raised. Grades will not however be lowered under any circumstances.

Fees for enquiries about results services

All awarding bodies make a charge for conducting their enquiry about results services. However the fee is re-funded or not charged if the result enquiry leads to a change in marks and/or subject grades. Where necessary an amended results certificate is issued to candidates whose grades have changed.

Submitting an appeal

If a school or college or private candidate is dissatisfied with the outcome of an enquiry about a result, the next stage is to follow the awarding body's appeals process. Appeals are only accepted from a head of centre or a private candidate. The grounds for appeal must relate to the awarding body's procedures and/or the way in which it has followed these procedures. It is not possible to make an appeal simply on the grounds that the marking is 'wrong' or 'too harsh'. Appeals do not necessarily involve the re-marking of candidates' work - the focus is whether or not the awarding body's procedures are appropriate and whether or not they have been followed correctly in the case under consideration.

Appeals Procedure - Stage 1

Internal awarding body appeals procedures comprise two stages. Stage 1 involves the review of the case by a senior member of the awarding body's staff who has had no previous involvement with it. The outcome of this review may be a request to carry out further investigations or re-marks or a decision that no further re-consideration of the marks and grades is necessary. This outcome is communicated to the school, college or private candidate concerned.

Appeals Procedure - Stage 2

If the head of centre or private candidate is still dissatisfied, they may then appeal to take the case to Stage 2. Stage 2 involves an appeals panel of at least three members, convened by the awarding body. These members are independent individuals, for example headteachers, with a great deal of appropriate experience in education and examinations. The appeals panel may confirm the action taken so far or may instruct awarding body staff to reconsider the case. It may also offer recommendations in respect of the awarding body's procedures.

Examinations Appeals Board

After the completion of Stages 1 and 2 of the awarding body's appeals process, including any further re-marks or re-moderation, the school or college or individual candidate may still be dissatisfied with the outcome. In such cases an appeal can be submitted to the Examinations Appeals Board (EAB), a London-based body which operates independently of the awarding bodies. The focus of the EAB's hearing is on whether the awarding body has followed its own procedures correctly and appropriately throughout the marking and grading of the candidate's work. For further information see www.theeab.org.uk.