About Us

Quality assessment

Every summer, we mark around 10 million exam scripts and issue 3.6 million GCSE, AS and A-level grades to 1.1 million learners. We know that getting the right result is very important to students and teachers, and we have put it at the heart of everything we do. And by 'right result', we don't just mean getting the right number of marks or grade – it has to be an accurate reflection of a learner's ability too.

Here you can find out what we are already doing to get it right, as well as how we are continuously improving what we do.

Assessing ability

One of the strengths of the English exam system is that it allows us to assess learners' abilities by asking them to do specific tasks as part of their exam or coursework. In the English system, the assessment is considered more valid than if students were only answering short factual or multiple-choice questions, because it enables us to assess a broader range of skills and abilities.

Typically, our question types are:

• Multiple-choice questions – to test factual recall, terminology or data interpretation.
• Short-answer questions – to test knowledge and understanding and some application.
• Extended-answer questions – to test more complex application of knowledge, analysis, evaluation or ability to construct a sustained logical argument.
• Data response and practical tasks – to test analysis and practical methods.

Of course, marking some tasks is not as straightforward as marking multiple choice questions, so we need examiners to use their expert, professional judgment to decide what mark best reflects the standard of the work.

To guide their judgements and make sure they are consistent, we set out the criteria for awarding marks in the mark scheme. We then check during the marking period that the marking meets the right standard.

Getting it right from the start

As we develop and deliver new qualifications, we use evidence to review the design of our assessments to ensure they continue to be the most valid and fair assessments for our learners. The evidence we use includes research from our in-house experts within our Assessment Research and Innovation teams. We make changes to bring about greater validity, reliability and consistency of marking.

Some of this includes:

• basic things – like having enough marks on a paper to enable differentiation and grading by ability and not having questions no one can answer
• more complex approaches – like understanding how the exam paper and the mark scheme work together.

We use universal design principles to guide how we create our assessments. These help to make sure that our assessments are as accessible as possible to all learners regardless of gender, age, language background, culture, socioeconomic status or disability.

Designing assessments that accurately test different ranges of ability means learners are able to get the grade that reflects what they know, understand and can do.

Getting the right people

As we are relying on examiners to use their professional judgement when creating or marking our assessments, we need to make sure we have the right people in place. Almost all our examiners are qualified teachers who are currently teaching, or have recently taught, the subject they are marking.

All examiners and AQA colleagues who develop or deliver assessments go through rigorous training, so they are up to date with the latest research and developments in assessment design.

How papers are marked

While examiners are experts in their subjects, they have different levels of experience when it comes to marking. We train our markers and have strict quality mechanisms in place to check marking along the way, to make sure they mark to the right standard, whether marking is paper-based (traditional) or online.

Here is a brief overview of the process and quality controls we use.

Standardisation

Before marking starts, all examiners must successfully complete a standardisation process so they fully understand the mark scheme and where to award marks.

During standardisation, a panel of senior examiners mark a set of students’ answers. Examiners are then given these same answers to mark, and their marks are compared with those agreed by the senior examiner panel.

If there are any differences, the examiner’s team leader will discuss the discrepancies with them. They will only be allowed to start marking their allocation of students’ work when their team leader is satisfied that they understand how to apply the mark scheme correctly.

Regular checking

As well as standardisation at the start of the process, we monitor examiners' marking to make sure they understand the mark scheme and are applying it correctly during their marking. Depending on how the exam papers (which we call scripts) are marked, there are different ways of checking. Here is some of what we do.

Online marking

During online marking, we regularly test a sample of examiners' work to check if they are applying the mark scheme correctly. We call this process 'seeding', and this is how it works:

• Senior examiners agree the right mark for a range of answers. These pre-marked responses are called ‘seeds’.
• These seeds are introduced into an examiner’s marking allocation at intervals throughout their marking. They are indistinguishable from live marking to examiners.
• After marking a seed, the system compares the mark given by the examiner to the mark agreed by the senior examiners.
• If the mark is correct – or within tolerance – the examiner is allowed to continue marking.
• If the mark is out of tolerance, the system flags this to the examiner and their team leader.
• If the examiner is not applying the mark scheme correctly, they are stopped from marking.
• When this happens, the team leader contacts the examiner to discuss the differences before they are allowed to carry on marking.
• If incorrect marking happens again, examiners can be permanently stopped and their marking given to someone else to be marked again.

The seeding process is repeated throughout the marking period to help make sure that examiners stay on track to the right standard.

Sometimes seeding isn’t the best option; for example, for longer essay-type answers. In these cases, we use double marking – where two examiners mark the same answer – to check the quality of marking.

We need to allow for small, acceptable differences in professional judgement, which we call ‘tolerance’, but, if the marks differ by more than a small number, a senior examiner decides on the correct mark.

As with seeding, examiners who are not applying the mark scheme correctly are stopped until their team leader is able to contact them and discuss their marking.

The vast majority of our marking is online, as our research shows that it increases reliability. For example:

• different questions are sent to different examiners so the final mark for any exam paper is the professional judgement of a number of experts
• we can monitor each examiner throughout the whole marking period.

Throughout the marking period, we do additional monitoring looking out for examiners who are marking too quickly or are not applying the full range of marks on certain questions. We flag any concerns to our most senior examiners to do extra checks, and we can then step in as needed.

Moderation of centre-assessed coursework

Moderation checks that schools are applying the same standard when marking coursework and recommends adjustments when this is not the case.

Throughout the moderation period we conduct sampling of our moderators, who check centre marking. This is achieved by senior moderators checking and ensuring their team are applying the standard correctly.

Awarding grades and maintaining standards

We hold awarding meetings when marking is almost complete and we have enough marks for a subject to make valid and reliable judgements. At these meetings, we determine the minimum number of marks needed to achieve a particular grade – we call this setting grade boundaries.

In coming to a decision, we draw upon a combination of statistical analysis and examples of students' work. This makes sure that grades are meaningful from one year to the next.

As a result, employers and higher education institutions can be assured that the grades of young people are reliable year on year.

For a more detailed overview of this process, visit the standards over time page on our website.

Review of marking and marking quality

After results are published, teachers can access individual marked scripts, to understand how marks have been awarded. If they and learners are unhappy with their marks, they can apply for a review of marking or other post-results services.

The exam system operates on a large scale and involves an important element of human judgement.

We know that every mark and grade change is significant for students, and we’re doing everything we can to make sure our marking is as accurate and reliable as possible. But we know, since marking is a human process, that sometimes mistakes can happen. That's why we make sure that any reviews of marking provide a fair and consistent way to put things right.

Training and monitoring reviewers

All of our reviewers are experienced, expert examiners and moderators who marked or moderated exams in the summer series before the reviews. We have strict processes in place to make sure the examiner doing the reviewing is not the same person that did the original marking.

Where necessary, reviewers are sampled by their senior examiner(s) throughout the review of marking window to make sure the decisions they make are reasonable, and in line with Ofqual guidelines.

Improving quality of assessment

Because we recognise how important getting the right result is for everyone, we are always looking to improve, using research evidence to build on what works well and learning from mistakes. This includes analysing the performance of all our papers, processes and examiners after each exam series and taking on board feedback.

We have a dedicated Assessment Quality team, who oversee and support improvements, ensuring we assess the right things, in the right way, to get the right results.

Understanding how exams work

Read about how exams work and watch our animation explaining how grades are awarded.