Figures released by Ofqual in its annual statistical report on Enquiries About Results (EARs) show an increase in the number of enquiries received by exam boards in 2015.

Ofqual’s data for 2015 shows the continuing upward trend in individual enquiries - up 27% from 451,000 in 2014 to 572,350 this year.

The number of qualification grade changes as a result of EARs was 90,650 which represents 1.1% of all grades awarded and 17.9% of all grades challenged (down from 18.7% in 2014).

Despite the increase in enquiries, turnaround times by exam boards were shorter in summer 2015.

Alongside the statistical report, Ofqual has announced a new Enquiries About Results consultation to ensure the service provided by exam boards continues to improve.

The consultation covers the review and appeal systems used by exam boards in England for addressing enquiries about a candidate’s GCSE, AS or A Level marks. It also proposes new rules for how exam boards should set grade boundaries for new and legacy GCSEs, AS and A Levels.

Proposals include:

• Teachers should be able to request to see all marked GCSE, AS and A Level scripts before deciding if they want them to be reviewed - at the moment only AS and A Level scripts are routinely accessible in this way
• The focus of a review should be on the quality of the original marker’s work and application of the mark scheme
• Papers should be reviewed by markers specifically trained to review someone else’s marking and have received that training at the right time
• Marks should only be changed where there is an error in applying the mark scheme or in counting the marks (a system error) - where there is a legitimate difference of opinion in application of the mark scheme between two markers, the original mark should stand - at the moment this happens in some but not all cases.