Research and analysis

Reviews of marking and moderation: November 2019 GCSEs and Projects

The number of reviews of marking and moderation for GCSEs in November 2019 series and for Project qualifications in June 2019, November 2019, and January 2020 series.

• From: Ofqual
• Published: 10 December 2020

Applies to England

Documents

Reviews of marking and moderation in England for GCSE 2019 November series and project qualifications in June 2019, November 2019 and January 2020 series

Ref: Ofqual/20/6722

MS Excel Spreadsheet, 66.7 KB

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Details

Main trends

GCSE November 2019

1. 4,885 GCSE grades were challenged in the 2019 November series (4.3% of 113,610 certificates awarded), of which 860 resulted in grade changes (17.6% of grades challenged or 0.8% of all certificates). In comparison, 4,255 grades were challenged (3.9% of 108,080 certificates awarded) in November 2018, of which 680 resulted in grade changes (16.1% of grades challenged or 0.6% of all certificates).

2. In November 2019, 3,355 grades were challenged for GCSE English language qualifications and 1,545 grades were challenged for GCSE mathematics qualifications. The most commonly challenged GCSE grade was grade 3 (91.4% of all grades challenged).

Project qualifications: June 2019, November 2019 and January 2020

1. There were 1,700 grades challenged for project qualifications in June 2019 (3.7% of 45,850 certificates awarded), of which 220 grades were changed (13.1% of grades challenged or 0.5% of all certificates).

2. There were 630 grades challenged for Project qualifications in November 2019 (10.0% of 6,265 certificates awarded), of which 25 grades were changed (4.0% of grades challenged or 0.4% of all certificates).

3. There were no grades challenged for Project qualifications in January 2020 (out of 2,855 certificates awarded).

Background information

Project qualifications are standalone qualifications at level 1 (broadly equivalent to GCSE grades 3 to 1), level 2 (broadly equivalent to GCSE grades 4 to 9) and level 3 (known as the Extended Project and broadly equivalent to AS/A level). Students complete a single piece of work on a topic which interests them, and, as well as being assessed on the final piece of work, they are also assessed on their planning, preparation, research and autonomous working. Projects are marked by centres and are subject to external moderation by awarding organisations. More information on Project qualifications can be found in our conditions and requirements.

Project qualifications can be awarded in the June, November or January series. Figures for Project qualifications in this report relate to reviews of moderation.

The November GCSE series is a smaller session than the summer series and so the figures reported here should be understood within that context. Before 2020, only GCSEs in English language and mathematics were awarded in the November series. Figures for November GCSEs relate to administrative error reviews or reviews of marking.

For related statistics and background information, see our release on Reviews of marking and moderation for GCSE, AS and A level: summer 2019 exam series.

Published 10 December 2020