Magazine archive
Packed with thought-provoking ideas, Make the Grade is one of the leading magazines for educational assessment professionals in England.
Review past issues of Make the Grade
The exam process explained
Stage 1 - Setting Policy
The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) has ultimate responsibility for the nature and direction of the English education system, including the curriculum of study and examination process. It is the DfES that develops the policies and white papers that are implemented by the regulatory authorities and awarding bodies, shaping the experiences of every student, teacher and educational assessor in England.
Stage 2 - Regulating the system
As with all government departments, the DfES cannot do all the work required to ensure policies are implemented effectively itself. For this reason it mandates dedicated regulatory authorities to look after the examination and assessment system. They monitor standards and quality, ensuring everyone gets a fair deal. The key regulator is the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), whose work governs the setting and marking of all general qualifications and national tests in England.
Qualifications and Curriculum Authority
The QCA is responsible for developing and maintaining the national curriculum and all its associated assessments, tests and examinations. In doing so it oversees the work of the awarding bodies setting any examination sat in England - ensuring that their administration, marking and awarding procedures run smoothly.
Acting as overall regulator for the public examination system in the UK, the QCA also collaborates with the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), the Qualifications, Curriculum and Assessment Authority for Wales (ACCAC) and the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment in Northern Ireland (CCEA), accrediting all qualifications according to its national qualifications framework.
Related links
www.qca.org.uk
www.sqa.org.uk
www.accac.org.uk
www.ccea.org.uk
National Assessment Agency
A subsidiary of the QCA, the NAA is responsible for the actual delivery of public examinations and tests in England, including how they are assessed. Since its launch in 2004, it has been working closely with awarding bodies, schools and colleges, local education authorities and other stakeholders to safeguard, improve and modernise this part of the system - streamlining processes, improving security and raising the quality of marking.
Related links
www.naa.org.uk
Stage 3 - Setting examinations
The examinations and tests sat in England range from A-Levels and GCSEs to National Curriculum tests taken at the ends of Key Stages 1, 2 and 3 (for pupils aged 7, 11 and 13 respectively).
Most are set by awarding bodies, also known as exam boards, who work under the authority and direction of the QCA and NAA to develop the actual papers, mark them and distribute the results. As such, it is they that actually award the final qualifications to students.
National Curriculum tests, however, are developed by the NAA itself, which currently contracts Edexcel to manage their delivery and marking.
The process of setting an exam or test takes 18 months. The awarding bodies first appoint principal examiners to write the papers, set the marking criteria and provide the explanation. To ensure quality, consistency and fairness, these papers are then evaluated by a reviser, before being sent to an evaluation committee and finally to an assessor for marking and setting.
Assessment and Qualifications Alliance
The AQA is the largest of the three English unitary awarding bodies (the others being OCR and Edexcel) resulting from the merger of the Associated Examining Board and the Northern Examinations and Assessment Board in 2000. It offers a wide range of different qualifications and services and, given its size, plays a prominent role in curriculum and policy development.
Related links
www.aqa.org.uk
Oxford, Cambridge and RSA Examinations
One of three awarding bodies in England (the others being the AQA and Edexcel) OCR was formed in 1998, the result of a merger between the University of Cambridge Local Examination Syndicate and RSA. With more than 600 staff in six regional offices and thousands more educational assessors on its books, it is able to offer an extremely broad range of qualifications.
Related links
www.ocr.org.uk
The Edexcel Foundation
An international organisation with operations in 112 countries worldwide, Edexcel develops academic and vocational qualifications offered by 5,000 secondary schools, 450 further education colleges, 70 higher education institutions and more than 700 employers and training providers throughout the UK. It is also solely responsible for marking the national Key Stage 2 and 3 tests and is currently the leading exponent of e-assessment and marking of scripts.
Related links
www.edexcel.org.uk
Welsh Joint Education Committee
The majority of examinations sat in Wales are taken through the WJEC, the country's only awarding body. However, its courses and qualifications are also available to any examination centre throughout England and Northern Ireland; just as schools and colleges in Wales are free to choose syllabuses from elsewhere in the UK. In addition to its responsibilities as an awarding body, the WJEC also plays an important role in managing National Youth Arts Wales.
Related links
www.wjec.co.uk
www.accac.org.uk
www.learning.wales.gov.uk
Northern Ireland Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessments
The CCEA is unique in that it not only an awarding body in itself - setting examinations and awarding qualifications throughout the UK - it also acts as regulator for Northern Ireland, monitoring the standards of qualifications offered by exam boards within its borders as the QCA does in England, as well as advising the government on what should be taught in the region's schools and colleges.
Related links
www.ccea.org.uk
www.deni.gov.uk
Stage 4 - The exams themselves
Students cannot communicate directly with awarding bodies. If they want to take an examination they must do so through a registered exam centre - usually a school or FE college. Each centre chooses a syllabus from one of the awarding bodies for every subject they offer their students. The final examinations are written around these syllabuses.
Every examination centre has a designated Exam Officer who organises and coordinates the delivery of examinations and, once they are complete, is responsible for submitting candidates' entries to the awarding bodies for assessment.
Stage 5 - Assessment
Assessment can take place either internally or externally, all under the supervision of the awarding bodies. Internal assessment is carried out within schools by Teacher Assessors who are then subject to moderation from the awarding bodies' Moderators. External assessment on the other hand sees exam scripts posted or sent out electronically to specially appointed and trained Examiners and Markers to mark.
Examiners and Markers
Examiners and markers assess candidates' work in accordance with agreed mark schemes and procedures. They normally have teaching experience but must not be connected with the school, college or students whose scripts they are marking. With up to 400 scripts to mark, each examiner and marker attends a standardisation meeting and undergoes regular checks to ensure accuracy and consistency.
Related links
www.examinerrecruitment.org
Moderators
Moderators are responsible for moderating the exam centres' own assessment of their candidates' work - usually coursework, but also components of certain exams. They check that the marking is consistent and conforms to the criteria, standards and procedures required by the awarding bodies. Most moderation is done remotely by analysing samples of centres' work, but school and college visits are also common.
Related links
www.examinerrecruitment.org
Teacher Assessors
When assessing coursework, artwork, practical exercises, speaking tests, etc. it usually makes more sense for exam centres to assess their own students' work rather than sending it out to external examiners and markers. Such internal assessment is carried out by the teachers themselves, or 'Teacher Assessors' as they are known, according to the strict criteria, standards and procedures set out by the awarding bodies, and is subject to external moderation.
Related links
www.examinerrecruitment.org
Stage 6 - Awarding grades
Once marking is complete, the awarding bodies hold 'awarding meetings' to ensure that standards are as high as ever and to determine where grade boundaries should be set. These judgements are based on expert analysis of previous and current exam papers, as well as detailed technical and statistical information. Any anomalies discovered at this stage may be subject to further investigation or remarking as required.
Assessment and Qualifications Alliance
The AQA is the largest of the three English unitary awarding bodies (the others being OCR and Edexcel) resulting from the merger of the Associated Examining Board and the Northern Examinations and Assessment Board in 2000. It offers a wide range of different qualifications and services and, given its size, plays a prominent role in curriculum and policy development.
Related links
www.aqa.org.uk
Oxford, Cambridge and RSA Examinations
One of three awarding bodies in England (the others being the AQA and Edexcel) OCR was formed in 1998, the result of a merger between the University of Cambridge Local Examination Syndicate and RSA. With more than 600 staff in six regional offices and thousands more educational assessors on its books, it is able to offer an extremely broad range of qualifications.
Related links
www.ocr.org.uk
The Edexcel Foundation
An international organisation with operations in 112 countries worldwide, Edexcel develops academic and vocational qualifications offered by 5,000 secondary schools, 450 further education colleges, 70 higher education institutions and more than 700 employers and training providers throughout the UK. It is also solely responsible for marking the national Key Stage 2 and 3 tests and is currently the leading exponent of e-assessment and marking of scripts.
Related links
www.edexcel.org.uk
Welsh Joint Education Committee
The majority of examinations sat in Wales are taken through the WJEC, the country's only awarding body. However, its courses and qualifications are also available to any examination centre throughout England and Northern Ireland; just as schools and colleges in Wales are free to choose syllabuses from elsewhere in the UK. In addition to its responsibilities as an awarding body, the WJEC also plays an important role in managing National Youth Arts Wales.
Related links
www.wjec.co.uk
www.accac.org.uk
www.learning.wales.gov.uk
Northern Ireland Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessments
The CCEA is unique in that it not only an awarding body in itself - setting examinations and awarding qualifications throughout the UK - it also acts as regulator for Northern Ireland, monitoring the standards of qualifications offered by exam boards within its borders as the QCA does in England, as well as advising the government on what should be taught in the region's schools and colleges.
Related links
www.ccea.org.uk
www.deni.gov.uk
Stage 7 - Distributing results
Once satisfied with the marks and grades awarded, the awarding bodies send the results to the examination centres who then distribute them to their students. If any candidate has an enquiry about their results, they can ask their centre to contact the awarding body on their behalf. This can include asking for their marked exam scripts back, a copy of the mark scheme, or even a remark.
Stage 8 - Remarking and appeals
If a candidate seriously believes that they have received an unfair result, then they may ask their examination centre to query the relevant awarding body. They can request a clerical check on examiners' totalling or ask for a remark by a different examiner. If these measures don't resolve the query, it may be referred to the awarding body's Appeals Panel. If there is still no resolution, the case may then be taken to the independent Examinations Appeals Board.
Awarding bodies
If a candidate is unhappy with the result or if a centre is unhappy with the result, it is possible to enquire about the result (EAR). If the outcome is still unsatisfactory, the a remark can be requested or access to the script (ATS). If the outcome is still seen to be unsatisfactory, then an appeal can be launched. The rules and regulations about how to do this are contained in the separate Awarding Body manuals.
Examinations Appeals Board
The Examinations Appeals Board (EAB) represents the final stage of the enquiries and appeals process, hearing cases only once the awarding body in question's own appeals process is complete. An independent body, it provides the official last word on whether an awarded grade is fair and accurate, deciding either to uphold the awarding body's original decision or direct it to reconsider the case.
Related links
www.theeab.org.uk