Research and analysis

Survey of examiners 2022

Published 4 May 2023

Applies to England

Authors

• Seer Ikurior
• Neil Stringer
• Ellie Keys

With thanks to

The examiners who gave their time to share their views and experiences of the examining process.

Executive summary

Each year, exam boards recruit panels of examiners to mark and moderate GCSE, AS or A level qualifications. In April and May 2022, Ofqual invited examiners of these general qualifications in England to complete a survey aimed at updating our knowledge of the professional background of examiners and their perceptions of the examining process. The survey was designed by Ofqual and sent electronically by exam boards to all examiners who had been recruited to write, mark or moderate general qualifications in summer 2022. We received 14,962 valid survey responses, which accounts for around a quarter of the examiner workforce.

The 2022 survey follows surveys conducted in 2013 and 2018. To facilitate comparisons between the 2 most recent surveys, the 2022 survey followed the format and wording of the 2018 survey where possible. There are some contextual factors to consider when making such comparisons though.

Since the 2018 survey, the rollout of reformed qualifications continued until 2020, when they were available in all subjects. This will have affected the number of entries for some qualifications, and therefore the number of examiners recruited (for example, AS entries have declined since the AS ceased to count towards the full A level). There are also differences between legacy and reformed specifications in terms of the assessments that make up each qualification (for example, reformed qualifications typically have less internal assessment).

Lastly, in 2020 and 2021, summer exams did not take place, and examining activities were largely limited to the much smaller autumn and November series. Consequently, many experienced examiners responding to our survey may not have examined for a number of years, so their perceptions of the process might be based on activities from several years ago.

Overall findings

Responses to our 2022 survey are reassuring in the context of the examining hiatus that affected most examiners in 2020 and 2021. Respondents’ levels of professional experience and perceptions of the examining process are generally in line with responses to the survey in 2018. The examiner workforce remains characterised by high levels of both teaching and examining experience, and respondents are generally keen to continue examining. Overall, examiners expressed high levels of confidence going into the summer 2022 series, despite adaptations to many assessments and the fact many respondents had not examined for 2 years.

On average, examiners have 10 years’ examining experience and 20 years’ teaching experience

Examiners responding to our survey are highly experienced, holding an average of 10 years examining experience. Levels of experience vary by examining role. Assessment writers are the most experienced having an average of 19 years, with moderators being slightly more experienced than markers, holding 13 and 10 years, respectively. This aligns with the findings of our 2018 survey and suggests that despite the disruption from the pandemic, the examining workforce remains highly experienced. Almost all respondents (99%) are also currently teaching or have taught previously, and this group have on average 20 years’ teaching experience.

Helping to prepare students for assessments is the main motivator to examine

The main reasons reported by respondents for becoming examiners are to help better prepare students for assessments, for additional income, and to support professional development. These are similar reasons to respondents in our 2018 survey, although professional development and additional income were chosen more frequently by respondents in 2022 than in 2018.

Examiners are confident in their ability to mark and moderate accurately and reliably

Most respondents have a very positive outlook on the marking and moderating process, with 97% (markers) and 94% (moderators) confident in their ability to perform their examining activities accurately and reliably. Confidence was also high in relation to marking and moderating in summer 2022, despite adaptations being made to many assessments.

Examiners also have a strong sense of the importance of their work. Respondents reported that the main source of pressure associated with examining is knowing that marking and moderation is important for the future lives of students. Other notable sources of pressure include balancing examining with other work commitments (76% for markers and 73% for moderators) and completing work to deadlines (67% for markers and 65% for moderators). These responses are broadly similar to our 2018 survey.

Most examiners intend to continue examining

Examiners appear to be a highly satisfied workforce. Over four-fifths of respondents agreed that they are satisfied with their job as examiners, and a high proportion found their role meaningful (93%) and report taking great pride in their work (90%).

Not all aspects of examining are viewed as satisfactory though, About half (48%) of respondents report unsatisfactory pay associated with their examining role, and close to three-fifths (57%) believe that their role is stressful. Nevertheless, examiners report high levels of commitment and a desire to continue examining, with 89% intending to continue for the foreseeable future. These figures are broadly similar to responses to our 2018 survey.

Background

Ofqual regulates GCSE, AS and A level qualifications (collectively referred to as general qualifications) in England. In April and May 2022, we surveyed examiners in England to gather up-to-date information on the examiner workforce.

We carried out similar surveys in 2013 and 2018. The first survey in 2013 was conducted as part of our research into the quality of marking of general qualifications, where we sought to build a picture of the professional background and experience of markers. In 2018, following a period of significant reform to general qualifications, we conducted a second survey to update our information on examiners, broadening our survey respondents to include moderators of internal assessment and examiners with a role in writing assessments.

The years since have seen the cancellation of summer exams in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic. Such large-scale disruption had the potential to affect the size and composition of the examiner workforce. The current survey was designed to identify any changes in the demographics, professional background, and examining experience of examiners between 2018 and 2022.

As in 2018, the term ‘examiners’ refers to anyone who is involved in the following activities:

• marking of exams
• moderation of internal assessment
• writing assessments

Due to similarities in the survey design between 2018 and 2022, it is possible to make meaningful comparisons between the 2 years regarding the profile and experience of examiners. The 2022 survey also included questions about the adaptations that were in place for assessments taken in summer 2022 (for example, the provision of advance information).

It is worth noting that in 2020 and 2021, when summer exams did not take place, only a subset of examiners marked – and a smaller proportion of examiners moderated. This is because examining activities were limited largely to the much smaller autumn and November series^{[footnote 1]},which included very little internal assessment. Among respondents to this survey, 15% of markers reported their most recent examining experience as being in autumn 2021 and for 3% it was autumn 2020. This suggests that most of those who marked in autumn 2020 also did so in 2021. The majority of respondents (57%) reported summer 2019 as their most recent examining experience. The remaining respondents had either marked before summer 2019 (9%) or were new to marking (16%). While this does not affect the measures of examiners’ demographic information or professional experience in 2022, it does mean that, for some individuals, perceptions of the process might be based on their examining activities from several years ago.

Methodology

Ofqual asked the 4 exam boards offering general qualifications in England to send out the survey to all examiners who mark exams, moderate internal assessments, or write assessments^{[footnote 2]}. A survey hyperlink was sent via email, and the survey remained open for 3 weeks between 24 April and 15 May 2022. Exam boards were asked to send examiners one reminder email during the 3 weeks. This approach was the same as that used in the survey in 2018.

Survey design

The 2022 survey was designed by Ofqual, with input invited from the exam boards. The survey covered many of the themes explored in the 2018 survey, as well as exploring some new areas such as the adaptations that were in place for assessments taken in summer 2022 (for example, the provision of advance information). To aid comparisons with the 2018 survey, the same questions were used where possible.

The first section of the survey focussed on the examining background of the respondents. This included the type of qualification they examined and the length of their examining experience. The second part asked a series of questions about examiners’ teaching background (for example, the length of teaching experience), the level of support examiners receive from their school or college, and the subjects that they examine.

Examiners were then routed to different sections of the survey. Exam markers were asked about their experiences of marking, their perceptions of the marking process, and their awareness and perceptions of adaptations to assessments in summer 2022. Moderators were asked similar questions about their experiences of moderation. We also asked senior examiners a set of questions about their experience of supervising examiners and writing assessments.

We then asked all examiners about the satisfaction they derive from their examining role and their intention to continue examining in future. Finally, we collected information on the demographic profile of examiners.

Geographical coverage

The survey was designed for individuals involved with examining activities in England. Some exam boards providing general qualifications in England also offer GCSEs, AS and A levels in Wales. Examiners of these qualifications may examine students’ work from both England and Wales, and we have not attempted to remove these examiners from the sample.

Presentation

The remainder of this report presents the findings of our survey. When we talk about ‘examiners’, we use the term quite broadly. Specifically, we mean anyone who is involved in marking external exams, moderating internal assessments or writing assessments. Findings are reported for examiners overall, and where applicable, compared to responses from the 2018 survey. In many instances, there are broad similarities in the responses across both years and we simply state this. Where notable differences exist, we highlight them and offer an interpretation.

Where appropriate, we also break down any differences in the responses of examiners by the qualification that they examine (GCSE, AS or A level), or the type of examining activity that they carry out (marking, moderating or writing assessments). It should be noted that in some instances these groups are not distinct. For example, an examiner might both mark and moderate assessments. We have chosen not to show data for distinct groups only, as we wish to represent these overlaps (for example, performing 2 examining roles or examining for 2 exam boards) in the data, as it is seen in the real population.

Survey responses are presented in the form of valid percentages rounded to the nearest whole number or single decimal when it makes better sense context-wise. Percentages sometimes add up to more than 100% because some examiners are involved in multiple examining roles (for example, marking and moderation) for different qualifications. The base number of valid responses for each question is cited next to any table or figure.

Some questions from the survey included the option ‘not applicable’. This category ensures examiners have a valid option to choose when questions do not apply to them, so they are not forced to make a choice. With these questions, our approach has been to remove the ‘not applicable’ category and re-calculate the proportions of the other categories to aid comparisons with responses to the 2018 survey (when this response option was not always available).

For more information on the data management and analysis, please refer to Appendix A. The full survey is included as Appendix B.

Results

Number of respondents

The total number of valid responses received in 2022 was 14,962, which accounts for around a quarter of the 60,000 examiners of general qualifications reported by the Joint Council for Qualifications (Examiners and Marking - JCQ Joint Council for Qualifications). We have no evidence to indicate that the survey is (or indeed is not) representative of the wider examiner population. While we received approximately 3,000 fewer responses than in 2018, we are still cautiously optimistic about the generalisability of our findings, especially as measures of examiner demographics and their professional profile are similar to 2018.

Profile of respondents

Qualifications examined

Figure 1. Proportion of respondents examining GCSEs, AS and A levels in 2018 (Base=18,348) and 2022 (Base=14,962)

Examiners often hold more than one examining role at any one time. They may examine for multiple exam boards, or across different subjects or qualification levels.

Four-fifths of examiners in our sample examined one qualification level (80%; Figure 2). Only 5% of respondents examined across 3 qualification levels (GCSEs, AS and A levels), and 15% examined 2 qualification levels. These are similar to figures in 2018.

Figure 2. Proportion of examiners examining one, two or three qualification levels in 2022

The proportion of respondents working for each exam board is shown in Figure 3. Most respondents worked for AQA, followed by Pearson, OCR, then WJEC. This broadly reflects the general qualifications market share for each exam board (Ofqual, 2022). This contrasts with the 2018 survey, when Pearson examiners were over-represented in our sample.

Figure 3. Proportion of respondents working for each exam board in 2018 (Base=18,348) and 2022 (Base=14,962)

The proportion of respondents working for multiple exam boards in 2022 was similar to 2018 – 16% of examiners worked for more than one exam board (compared to 15% in 2018), and just 2% of our sample worked for 3 or more exam boards (compared to 1% in 2018).

Examining activity

General qualifications in England are predominantly assessed through external exams. Over 90% of our respondents marked exams, with 15% (18% in 2018) moderating internal assessment (Figure 4). The lower percentage of moderators in our 2022 sample might reflect that there are fewer internal assessments in reformed qualifications. One in 10 respondents were involved in writing assessments, similar to 2018.

Figure 4. Examining activity in 2018 (Base=18,348) and 2022 (Base=14,962)

Just over 15% of respondents carried out more than one examining activity. The overlap between different examining activities is illustrated in Figure 5. In summary:

• Most exam markers carried out exam marking only. Around a fifth of markers had at least one additional role, either moderating or writing assessments
• Over two-thirds of moderators (69%) had at least one additional role, usually exam marking
• Most assessment writers (87%) also had a marking or moderating role (or both). Over two-thirds of assessment writers also marked exams
• Only 2% of our sample marked, moderated and wrote assessments

Figure 5. Number of examiners who carried out one or more examining activity in 2022

Highest examining role held

Respondents held roles of varying levels of seniority. Most (61%) marked or moderated assessments (Figure 6). Some respondents held more senior roles: 17% were team leaders, 6% were principal examiners or principal moderators, and 1% were Chairs of Examiners or Chief Examiners.

A small percentage of respondents (4%) indicated that their highest role was a general marker. General markers mark responses to straightforward, low tariff questions only. In theory, these markers would not need to have teaching experience to mark these items, but our survey found that almost all general markers (99%) had some teaching experience.

Overall, the highest role held by respondents in our sample is similar to 2018, with the exception that there is a greater percentage of assessment designers/reviewers in 2022 (11% of respondents compared to 3% in 2018). This appears to account for the lower percentage of markers or moderators in 2022 compared to 2018 (61% in 2022 and 70% in 2018).

Figure 6. Highest examining role held by examiners in 2022

Examining experience

Average length of examining experience (in years)

Overall, examiners remain a highly experienced workforce. They held an average of 10 years prior examining experience, equivalent to the figure from 2018.

Assessment writers held the most experience on average (19 years), followed by moderators (13 years) and markers (10 years). This trend was consistent across GCSEs, AS and A levels. It is also similar to the levels of experience observed in 2018, when assessment writers held the most experience (18 years), followed by moderators (12 years) and markers (9 years).

Average length of examining experience by qualification

We found differences in the length of examiner experience depending on the qualification examined, as in 2018 (Table 1). In 2022, AS examiners had the most experience with an average of 15 years, followed by A level examiners (12 years) and GCSE examiners (10 years). The greater experience of AS examiners might be because principal examiners are likely to account for a relatively large proportion of the examining teams for these qualifications, given the lower entries post-reform (and therefore the need for fewer examiners).

Table 1. Average examining experience (in years) amongst examiners in 2018 (Base=18,348) and 2022 (Base=14,962) by qualification

Qualification examined	2018	2022
GCSEs	9	10
AS	13	15
A levels	12	12

Examiners were asked the last time they marked external exams (Figure 7). The majority of respondents (57%) reported that summer 2019 was their most recent marking experience. The remaining respondents had either marked before summer 2019 (9%), were new to marking (16%), or had marked in autumn 2020 (3%) or autumn 2021 (15%).

Figure 7. Most recent marking experience of examiners

Moderators were also asked when they last moderated internal assessments (Figure 8). As with exam markers, the majority of moderators reported summer 2019 as their most recent moderating experience (55%). The remaining respondents had moderated before summer 2019 (17%), were new to moderating (22%), or had moderated in autumn 2020 (4%) or autumn 2021 (2%).

Figure 8. Most recent moderating experience of examiners

Proportion of new examiners

Around 12% of respondents recruited to examine in summer 2022 were new to examining, similar to 2018 when 13% were new examiners (Figure 9). This suggests that the disruption due to the pandemic in 2020 and 2021 has not resulted in there being a greater proportion of new examiners in summer 2022. Recruiting new examiners each year is important for the long-term future of the examiner workforce.

Figure 9. Proportion of new and experienced examiners

Respondents were more likely to be new to a marking role than a moderating or assessment writing role (Table 2). The low proportion of new examiners involved in assessment writing is perhaps not surprising, since examiners are likely to hold other roles before progressing to be assessment writers.

Table 2. Percentage of new examiners in 2018 and 2022 by examining activity

Examining activity	2018	2022
Marking	14%	12%
Moderating	8%	6%
Writing	0%	3%

The percentage of new examiners also varied by qualification. For GCSEs, 13% of respondents were new to an examining role, compared to 4% for AS and 8% for A level (Table 3). The lower percentage of new examiners for AS might reflect the lower entries for these qualifications, and the likelihood that some specifications will be marked by a small number of examiners.

The percentage of new examiners by qualification in 2022 is broadly similar to 2018. For GCSE and AS, there was a slightly lower percentage of new examiners in our sample compared to 2018, but for A level it was slightly higher.

Table 3. Percentage of new examiners in 2018 and 2022 by qualification

Qualification level	2018	2022
GCSE	15%	13%
AS	5%	4%
A level	6%	8%

Teaching background

When recruiting examiners, exam boards typically require that applicants have some prior teaching experience. Accordingly, more than 99% of respondents are current or former teachers (Figure 10), and just under three-quarters (72%) are currently teaching. Just over a quarter of respondents are former teachers (27%) and only 0.3% of respondents have no teaching experience. This is broadly similar to responses in 2018.

Figure 10. Teaching status of examiners in 2022

Within our sample, markers and moderators were more likely than assessment writers to be current teachers. Just over half (54%) of assessment writers reported being current teachers, compared to just under three-quarters of markers and moderators. These figures are broadly similar to those in 2018 (Table 4).

GCSE examiners were more likely to be current teachers (73%) than those examining A levels (69%) or AS (60%), similar to 2018.

Table 4. Percentage of examiners currently teaching by examining activity and qualification in 2018 and 2022

	Markers	Moderators	Writers	GCSEs	AS	A levels
2018	74%	74%	57%	74%	64%	69%
2022	73%	75%	54%	73%	60%	69%

Most former teachers had recent teaching experience (Figure 11) and almost three-fifths (57%) had taught within the past 5 years. Nearly a third of respondents (29%) had teaching experience from 3 to 5 years ago, 15% had teaching experience from 1 to 2 years ago, and 13% had teaching experience from within the last year. Some respondents had less recent teaching experience. Just under a quarter of respondents (24%) had teaching experience from 6 to 10 years ago, and a smaller proportion had teaching experience from 11 to 15 years ago (11%) or more than 15 years ago (8%).

Figure 11. Recency of teaching experience for former teachers

Teaching experience

Average length of teaching experience in years

Examiners who are current teachers (or who have taught in the past) have a high level of teaching experience, averaging 20 years. This is similar to respondents in our 2018 survey where the average was 19 years. Assessment writers have the most teaching experience (25 years on average compared to 24 years in 2018), followed by moderators (22 years compared to 21 years in 2018) and markers (19 years compared to 18 years in 2018).

The teaching experience of respondents examining GCSEs, AS and A levels differed slightly. AS and A level examiners have slightly more teaching experience than GCSE examiners. This is similar to respondents in 2018 (Table 5).

Table 5. Average teaching experience (in years) amongst examiners in 2018 and 2022 by qualification

Qualification examined	2018	2022
GCSE	18	19
AS	22	23
A level	21	22

School or college support for examining work

Examiners with teaching experience were asked to describe the level of support they receive from their school or college for their examining role (Figure 12). Most respondents (63%) reported that their school or college is supportive of their examining work (39% reported that their school or college is very supportive and 24% reported that their school or college is somewhat supportive). Less than a tenth (7%) of examiners indicated that they felt unsupported by their school or college (3% reported that their school or college is very unsupportive and 4% reported that their school or college is somewhat unsupportive). This leaves just under a third of respondents (30%) reporting that their school or college is neither supportive nor unsupportive of their examining activity. These responses are all broadly similar to our 2018 survey.

Figure 12. Perceived levels of support for examining duties from school or college in 2022

Teaching and examining the same specification

The majority of respondents (66%) reported teaching the same specifications that they examine (Figure 13), and a further 14% reported teaching some of the same specifications that they examine. The remaining 20% of respondents reported that they do not teach and examine the same specification. The proportion of examiners teaching and examining the same specification is slightly less in 2022 (80%) than in 2018 (84%).

Figure 13. Proportion of examiners who teach the same specification(s) they examine

Examiners who do not teach the same specifications they examine reported receiving just as much support from their school or college (60%; up from 52% in 2018) as those respondents who teach and examine the same specifications (63%; the same proportion as 2018).

Subjects

We had responses from examiners recruited to examine the majority of GCSE, AS and A level subjects that were available in summer 2022, with the proportion of responses per subject reflecting entry numbers.

About 90% of respondents examined only one subject (though around 60% of these examiners did so across multiple qualification levels). Almost one-tenth of respondents (Figure 14) examined multiple subjects, and only a small percentage of respondents examined more than 3 subjects (0.4%).

Figure 14. Proportion of examiners that examine multiple subjects in 2022

Motivation for becoming an examiner

The main reasons for respondents choosing to become examiners were to help better prepare their students for assessments, for additional income, and to support professional development (Figure 15, Table 6). These were also the most popular reasons for becoming an examiner cited by respondents in our 2018 survey.

Figure 15. Motivating factors for becoming examiners in 2018 (Base=18,344) and 2022 Base=14,962)

Table 6. Motivating factors for becoming examiners in 2018 (Base=18,344) and 2022 (Base=14,962)

Motivating factors for examining	2018	2022
To help better prepare my students for assessments	38%	34%
Additional income	22%	23%
Professional development	16%	19%
To learn more about the specifications I teach	14%	14%
To learn more about the examining process	7%	8%
Other	3%	2%

Assessment writers

As in 2018, 10% of respondents had a role in the production of assessments, including as reviewers and scrutineers. We collectively refer to these roles as assessment writers. These examiners had 11 years’ experience in an assessment writer/production role, an increase of one year from 2018.

Teaching and writing assessments for the same specification

Just over two-fifths (42%) of assessment writers who are currently teaching write assessments for the same specifications that they teach (Figure 16).

Figure 16. Assessment writers teaching and writing assessments for the same specification

Managing conflict between teaching and assessment writing roles

Respondents were positive about their ability to manage any conflict between their teaching and examining roles. While a quarter of assessment writers thought that there is a potential conflict of interest between their teaching and examining roles, over four-fifths (86%) reported that they did not find it difficult to manage this conflict (Figure 17). The majority (79%) also agreed that they are sufficiently supported by exam boards to manage any conflict between teaching and writing assessments in the same specification. It should also be noted that exam boards are required to take appropriate steps to ensure the confidentiality of assessment materials, in accordance with Ofqual’s condition G4 .

Figure 17. Managing conflict between teaching and exam-setting roles

Modes of marking, training and moderation

Over recent years, marking and moderating activities have increasingly moved online. We asked examiners how they carried out their marking or moderating activity and how they were trained to mark or moderate.

Exam markers

Most exam markers (90%) reported conducting their exam marking mainly online (Figure 18), over a 10 percentage point increase from 2018 (79%). The rest said they either marked predominantly in hardcopy (6%) or equally online and in hardcopy (4%). This is likely to reflect a greater move towards online marking by exam boards over time.

Figure 18. Modes of exam marking

Three-quarters of respondents reported being trained to mark (standardised) mainly online (Figure 19), compared to 62% of respondents in our 2018 survey. The remaining respondents said they were either predominantly trained face-to-face (16%) or equally face-to-face and online (8%). This likely reflects an ongoing move towards online training for examiners.

Figure 19. Modes of marker training

Item-level marking was carried out by 46% of markers, compared to 41% of markers in 2018. In this form of marking, a scanned script is split up into individual questions (or groups of questions), which are marked online by different examiners.

Moderators

As in 2018, online technologies are utilised less when training moderators, compared to training exam markers. In the current survey, 47% of moderators reported being mainly trained online, and 42% reported being mainly trained face-to-face (Figure 20). The remaining respondents (11%) said that they are trained equally online and face-to-face. This represents an increase in online training for moderators compared to our 2018 survey, when the majority of moderators (63%) were trained face-to-face. This likely reflects the increasing use of online technologies by exam boards that is likely to continue, particularly given the move towards more remote working following the pandemic.

Figure 20. Modes of moderator training

Sources of pressure on examiners

Similar to the 2018 survey, we asked examiners about the sources of pressure and the challenges they experienced during examining.

Perceptions of pressure – exam markers

Both markers and moderators have a strong sense of the importance of their work for students’ future prospects, similar to respondents in our 2018 survey. The majority of markers (79%) agreed that they felt pressure knowing that their work is important to the future lives of students (Figure 21, Table 7). Respondents also recognised the importance of their marking for schools and colleges (65% indicated that this was a source of pressure in 2022).

Around two-thirds of markers (67%) reported finding it challenging to complete marking to a deadline, with 76% agreeing that fitting examining in around other work commitments is a challenge (Figure 21, Table 7). These figures are broadly similar to those in our 2018 survey.

Figure 21. Perceptions of pressure among exam markers in 2022

Table 7. Perceptions of pressure among exam markers in 2022 (Base=10,987)

	Strongly agree	Agree	Neither agree nor disagree	Disagree	Strongly disagree
I feel pressure knowing that my marking is important to the future lives of students	32%	47%	15%	5%	1%
Fitting examining work in around other work commitments is challenging	26%	50%	14%	8%	2%
I feel pressure knowing that my marking is important to schools and colleges	21%	44%	25%	8%	2%
Completing marking to a deadline is challenging	19%	48%	17%	13%	3%
Passing exam board quality assurance checks during live marking is challenging	12%	44%	28%	15%	2%

Perceptions of pressure – moderators

Moderators also reported similar sources of pressure to markers (Figure 22, Table 8). Moderators recognised the importance of their work for the future lives of students (78% agreed with this statement) and were more likely than markers to feel pressure knowing the importance of their work for schools and colleges (73% agreed with this statement). This is similar to our survey in 2018. The difference between markers and moderators might reflect the added pressure associated with (potentially) adjusting teachers’ original judgements of their students’ work.

Otherwise, moderators were less likely than markers to feel pressure linked to fitting examining work in around other work commitments (73% agreed with this statement) and completing their moderation activities to a deadline (65% agreed with this statement). Again, overall responses are similar to those in 2018.

Figure 22. Perceptions of pressure among exam moderators in 2022

Table 8. Perceptions of pressure among exam moderators in 2022 (Base=1,618)

	Strongly agree	Agree	Neither agree or disagree	Disagree	Strongly disagree
I feel pressure knowing that my moderation is important to the future lives of students	30%	48%	17%	5%	1%
Fitting moderation work in around other work commitments is challenging	25%	48%	16%	9%	2%
I feel pressure knowing that my moderation is important to schools and colleges	25%	48%	20%	6%	1%
Completing moderation to a deadline is challenging	18%	47%	19%	13%	1%
Passing exam board quality assurance checks during live moderation is challenging	13%	45%	29%	12%	1%

Perceptions of the marking process

Examiners recruited to mark assessments were asked to rate aspects of the marking process in general, and then to rate aspects of the marking process with reference to the adaptations made in summer 2022.

Most respondents had a very positive outlook on the marking process, with 97% of markers agreeing that they are confident in their ability to mark accurately and reliably (Figure 23, Table 9). Respondents were favourable about most other aspects of the marking process, with over 87% of respondents giving a positive response to all but one statement. This is broadly similar to our survey responses in 2018. The statement with the least favourable responses related to the usefulness of feedback received on examiners’ performance after the marking process. While just over a tenth (14%) of respondents in 2022 disagreed with this statement, this was lower than in 2018 (18%), indicating that responses in 2022 were more favourable than in 2018.

Figure 23. Perception of the marking process in 2022

Table 9. Perception of the marking process in 2022 (Base=11,477)

	Strongly agree	Agree	Neither agree nor disagree	Disagree	Strongly disagree
I am confident in my ability to mark accurately and reliably	49%	48%	3%	0%	0%
I can access support when I encounter a problem during marking	45%	49%	4%	1%	0%
I have enough contact with my senior examiner or marking supervisor during marking	45%	47%	6%	2%	0%
I receive sufficient briefing about a paper and mark scheme before I begin my marking for each exam	43%	48%	6%	3%	1%
I have received sufficient training to allow me to mark to a high standard	41%	51%	6%	2%	0%
External examinations are marked accurately and reliably in my exam board	40%	51%	7%	1%	0%
I have adequate guidance materials and instructions to refer to when marking	38%	53%	6%	3%	0%
I receive useful feedback about my marking during the marking process	36%	51%	9%	4%	1%
I receive useful feedback about my performance after the marking process	22%	46%	19%	11%	3%

Perceptions of mark schemes

In general, examiners were positive about the mark schemes available to support their marking (Figure 24). Examiners were confident when using a mark scheme in their subject (89% agreed with this statement) and thought that mark schemes contained sufficient detail (81%) and were clear and unambiguous (70%). Responses in 2022 were more favorable than in 2018, which might reflect that the previous survey was conducted during reform, when examiners would have been less familiar with the new specifications that they were examining.

Figure 24. Perceptions of mark schemes in 2022

Adaptations and the marking process

Adaptations were made to assessments in summer 2022 to support students during the return to formal exams. This included some changes to internal assessment to reflect public health restrictions in place at the time students were doing their assessments. Exam boards also published advance information in February 2022, which gave information about some of the topics that would be in the exams, and in a small number of GCSE subjects, there was additional optionality.

Examiners were asked a series of questions about their perceptions of how the adaptations could impact their examining work.

At the time of the survey, 89% of respondents indicated that they were aware of adaptations (Figure 25). It is worth noting that this was prior to training and marking taking place, so any examiners who were unaware of adaptations at this time – most plausibly those not currently teaching – will have been made aware of them in due course.

Figure 25. Awareness of adaptations in summer 2022

The majority of exam markers (81%) did not expect adaptations to make a difference to how challenging marking would be in comparison to previous exam series (Figure 26). While a tenth expected that adaptations would make marking more challenging, a similar proportion (9%) expected adaptations to make marking less challenging.

Figure 26. Examiners’ views on the impact of adaptations on marking

The majority of exam markers reported feeling just as confident about marking in summer 2022 as in previous series (82%), and 8% reported feeling more confident (Figure 27). Only a tenth of exam markers reported feeling less confident compared to previous series. This is reassuring given that formal exams did not go ahead in summer 2020 or 2021, and some examiners will not have marked formal assessments for several years.

Figure 27. Confidence of exam markers in 2022 compared with the previous series

Perceptions of the moderation process

Examiners recruited to moderate internal assessments were asked to rate various aspects of the moderation process, including in relation to the adaptations made to assessments in summer 2022.

Overall, moderators reported a high degree of satisfaction with the moderation process and were positive about their role. The majority of respondents agreed that they were confident in their ability to moderate accurately and reliably (94% in Figure 28, Table 10). Moderators also reported having a clear understanding of the aims of moderation (97% agreed with this statement), and reported receiving sufficient training, briefings, support and guidance materials to carry out their role (over 89% of moderators agreed with each statement). This is broadly similar to responses in 2018.

Moderators were slightly less satisfied than markers with the feedback that they received on their performance, similar to respondents in our 2018 survey. Respondents also reported receiving more useful feedback during the moderation window (82%) than after it (74%).

Respondents were less likely to agree that schools and colleges mark internal assessments accurately and reliably (68% agreed with this statement). Moderators were more favourable about internal marking in 2022 compared to 2018 though (when 61% of moderators agreed with this statement).

Figure 28. Perception of the moderating process in 2022

Table 10. Perception of the moderating process in 2022 (Base=1,661)

	Strongly agree	Agree	Neither agree nor disagree	Disagree	Strongly disagree
I clearly understand the aim of moderation	65%	32%	2%	0%	0%
I am confident in my ability to moderate accurately and reliably	51%	43%	5%	0%	1%
I have received sufficient training to allow me to moderate to a high standard	50%	40%	7%	2%	1%
I receive sufficient briefing about the assessment criteria before I begin moderating	50%	41%	7%	2%	0%
I can access support when I encounter a problem when moderating	48%	42%	7%	2%	1%
I have enough contact with my senior moderator or moderation supervisor during moderation	48%	41%	9%	2%	1%
I have adequate guidance materials and instructions to refer to when moderating	44%	45%	8%	2%	1%
Internal assessment is moderated accurately and reliably in my exam board	40%	49%	9%	1%	1%
I receive useful feedback about my performance during the moderation window	37%	45%	13%	3%	1%
I receive useful feedback about my performance after the moderation window	31%	43%	18%	7%	2%
In my experience internal assessment is marked accurately and reliably by centres	23%	45%	23%	8%	2%

Adaptations and the moderating process

At the time of the survey, most moderators (91%) reported being aware of adaptations made to subjects they were moderating (Figure 29). A slightly greater proportion of moderators than markers were aware of adaptations, which may reflect the fact moderation would have been underway at the time of the survey, whereas marking had not begun. The fact some moderators were unaware of adaptations at this stage most likely reflects the fact that not all adaptations affected the marking and moderation of NEA.

Figure 29. Awareness of adaptations by moderators in 2022

The majority of moderators (80%) did not think that adaptations would make their moderating work more challenging in 2022 compared to the previous series (71% said equally challenging, while 9% said less challenging). Moderators were slightly more likely to think that adaptations would make moderating more challenging (20%) than markers though.

Figure 30. Examiners’ views on the impact of adaptations on moderation

The majority (89%) of moderators indicated that they have the same level of confidence, or higher confidence, moderating in summer 2022 compared to previous series (Figure 31). This is reassuring given that some moderators have not held a moderating role for a number of years due to the disruption from the pandemic. Only 10% said they had lower confidence, while just 1% said much lower.

Figure 31. Confidence of moderators in 2022 compared with previous series

Senior examiners’ perceptions

Examiners with a senior role in the marking or moderation process were asked a series of questions about their experience in their supervisory role. The responses of senior examiners were very positive across all questions (upwards of 92% agreement; Figure 32, Table 11). Senior examiners were particularly confident monitoring the work of other examiners (98%), giving support and feedback (98%), and setting and communicating the marking standard (98%). These responses are similar to 2018.

Figure 32. Experience of examiners in a supervisory role

Table 11. Experience of examiners in a supervisory role (Base=3,959)

	Strongly agree	Agree	Neither agree nor disagree	Disagree	Strongly disagree
I am confident giving support and feedback to other markers or moderators	61%	37%	2%	0%	0%
I am confident monitoring the work of other markers or moderators	60%	38%	2%	0%	0%
I am confident in setting and communicating the standard to other markers or moderators	57%	41%	2%	0%	0%
I am clear when intervention is necessary to address unsatisfactory performance including stopping a marker or moderator from continuing in their role	56%	40%	3%	1%	0%
I am confident leading standardisation activities	52%	43%	4%	1%	0%
I have had sufficient training to help me meet the requirements of my senior examiner role	51%	41%	6%	2%	0%

Assessment writers’ perceptions

Assessment writers were positive about the support and training they received as part of their assessment writing role (Figure 33). Over four-fifths of respondents reported receiving satisfactory training (86%), briefing (85%), and support (87%) throughout the assessment writing cycle. Responses were marginally more positive than in 2018.

Figure 33. Perception of the level of support received by assessment writers

Examiner satisfaction and retention

All examiners were asked a series of questions about their job satisfaction and their intention to continue examining in the future.

Examiners appear to be a highly satisfied workforce. A high proportion of examiners reported finding their role meaningful (93%), with 89% agreeing that they are proud of their role as an examiner (Figure 34). While 84% of our respondents found their role to be challenging, almost four-fifths find it enjoyable (79%). Respondents also reported good working relationships with senior examiners (73% agreed with this statement) and the majority (68%) found their workload to be realistic.

While satisfaction was generally very high, not all aspects of examining were viewed as positively. Over half of the examiners in this survey (57%) reported their examining roles as being stressful (similar to 2018). Satisfaction with pay mirrored responses from the 2018 survey. Almost half of respondents (48%) reported unsatisfactory pay associated with their examining role, with a quarter (25%) reporting they were satisfied with their pay. Examiners responding to our survey appear to be strongly committed to their examining role though, with 89% agreeing that they intend to continue examining for the foreseeable future.

Figure 34. Responses of examiners relating to their job satisfaction and intent to continue examining

Examiner demographics

Average age of examiners

The average age of examiners in our survey is 49 years, similar to respondents in our 2018 survey when the average age was 47 years. The average age of assessment writers (55 years) was 6 years older than the average age of examiners generally.

Examiners in our survey appear to be marginally older on average than the teacher workforce. Figures from the November 2021 School Workforce Census (DfE, 2022) place the majority of the teaching workforce between 30 and 49. Close to half (47%) of our sample fell within this range, but 48% were older than 49.

Employment status of examiners

Around 18% of respondents classed themselves as currently retired (Figure 35). For assessment writers, this figure was 31%. This is broadly similar to our 2018 survey.

Figure 35. Employment status of examiners

Gender of examiners

Respondents to our survey were predominantly female (68%, Figure 36), similar to our previous survey in 2018. This gender profile is broadly consistent with the gender balance of the teaching workforce in State-funded secondary schools in England, where 65% of teachers were female as of November 2021 (DfE, 2022).

Figure 36. Gender of examiners

Ethnicity of examiners

Examiners were most likely to indicate that they are ‘White – British’ (84%; Table 12). The ethnic background of examiners in our survey is similar to the wider teaching population – around 15% of teachers in state-funded schools in England (DfE, 2022) identify as belonging to an ethnic minority group, which compares to 16% of examiners in our survey. The figures for the 5 most common groups in 2022 are broadly the same as those in 2018 (Table 12).

Table 12. The most common ethnic backgrounds of examiners in 2018 (Base=17,849) and 2022 (Base=13,746)

Ethnic origin	2018	2022
White – British	84.8%	83.8%
Any other white background	5.2%	5.0%
White- Irish	1.9%	2.1%
Black or Black British – African	1.5%	2.0%
Asian or Asian British – Indian	1.8%	1.8%

References

Department for Education. (2022). Reporting year 2021 - School Workforce in England. [Online] [Accessed 17 Jan. 2023]

[Joint Council for Qualifications. (2023). Examiners and marking. Online] / [Accessed 21 Jan. 2023]

Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation. (2022). Annual Qualifications Market Report: 2020 to 2021 academic year. [Online] [Accessed 30 Jan. 2023]

Appendices

Appendix A

This appendix provides extra details on aspects of the data management and analysis that was carried out.

Data management and analysis

Survey responses are presented in the form of percentages. Percentages exclude any missing responses and exclude any respondents who were not asked a specific question. Hence, we have removed any ‘not applicable or ‘prefer not to say’ responses. All percentages cited in the report are therefore only calculated based on respondents who gave a definite response to each question.

The base number of valid respondents for each question is presented next to each chart. In the case where questions are in multiple parts, the number of valid respondents presented in the report is the valid responses for the sub-question with the lowest number of responses.

With multiple-choice questions, a respondent may have selected an available option but also written something in the textbox or may have not selected anything from the list and written in the textbox. In such instances, we have included the responses selected from the available options. If the respondent had not selected an available option but had written one of the options in the textbox, their response was included as the corresponding option.

Appendix B - The survey

1. Please indicate whether you: *

• Will be working as an AS, A level or GCSE examiner in the next 6 months (whether marking, moderating, writing, or reviewing question papers or items)
• Have been involved in the production of AS, A level or GCSE question papers in the last 2 years
• Both
• Neither

2. Which of the following qualifications or assessments are you involved in? PLEASE TICK ALL THAT APPLY *

• GCE A levels
• GCE AS levels
• GCSEs
• Other

3. Which of the following aspects of examining do you carry out? (If you are new to examining, please indicate what you will be doing). PLEASE TICK ALL THAT APPLY *

• Writing or reviewing exam questions or papers or items
• Marking external exams (including supervising marking)
• Moderating internal assessment (including supervising moderation)

4. Which exam board(s) do you examine for? PLEASE TICK ALL THAT APPLY *

• AQA
• Pearson
• OCR
• Eduqas or WJEC

5. Below is a list of examiner roles. Please tell us which of the following positions you hold at your exam board(s). PLEASE TICK ALL THAT APPLY. *

• Chair of Examiners or Assistant Chair of Examiners
• Chief Examiner
• Principal Examiner or Lead Examiner
• Assistant Principal Examiner or Assistant Lead Examiner
• Team Leader or Senior Team Leader (Marking)
• Examiner or Assistant Examiner
• Clerical or general marker
• Principal Moderator or Lead Moderator
• Assistant Principal Moderator or Assistant Lead Moderator
• Team Leader or Senior Team Leader (Moderating)
• Moderator or Assistant Moderator
• Lead Assessment Writer
• Writer or Author
• Item Writer
• Test Constructor
• Assessment Tester
• Scrutineer
• Reviewer
• Reviser
• Proof-reader
• Assessment Analyst
• Item Assessor
• Translator
• Test Coordinator

6. How many years of examining experience do you have in total? (Do not include CAGs or TAGs, for example, only count 2020 or 2021 if you were involved in normal examining activities.)

7. And for how many years have you been involved in producing question papers or items in AS, A levels or GCSEs?

8. Have you ever worked as a teacher or lecturer? *

• Yes, I am currently a teacher or lecturer
• Yes, I have teaching experience, but I am not currently teaching or lecturing
• No

9. How recent is your teaching or lecturing experience? *

• Current to 1 year ago
• 1 to 2 years ago
• 3 to 5 years ago
• 6 to 10 years ago
• 11 to 15 years ago
• 16 to 20 years ago
• 20+ years ago

10. How many years of teaching or lecturing experience do you have? *

11. What type of centre do you mainly work in? (Please describe your most recent centre if you are no longer teaching or lecturing)

• Academy
• Comprehensive
• Free school
• FE college
• Higher education
• Independent
• Primary or early years setting
• PRU or secure unit
• Special school
• State selective
• Other (please specify):

Now we have some questions about the subjects that you examine.
​By this we mean any subject in which you:

• mark external exams
• moderate internal assessment
• are involved in the production of exam questions

We will be asking you some similar questions to those contained in the previous section, however, now we would like you to respond in the context of the subjects that you examine only.

If you examine more than one subject, we will ask you to complete the information below for each subject in turn. There will be an opportunity to add extra subjects after each set of questions.

If you examine the same subject for more than one exam board or qualification, please treat this as one subject for the questions below.

Please note, we only need to know about the GCSE, AS and A level qualifications that you examine.

12. What subject do you examine? (If you examine more than one subject, you will be able to tell us about other subjects later.)

• Accounting
• Ancient history
• Ancient languages (classical Greek, Latin, biblical Hebrew)
• Art and design
• Astronomy
• Biology
• Business
• Chemistry
• Citizenship studies
• Classical civilisation
• Combined science
• Computer science
• Dance
• Design and technology
• Drama
• Economics
• Electronics
• Engineering
• English language
• English language and literature
• English literature
• Environmental science
• EPQ
• Film studies
• Food and nutrition
• French
• Further mathematics
• Geography
• Geology
• German
• History
• History of art
• HPQ
• Law
• Mathematics
• Media studies
• Music
• Other modern foreign languages (Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, Gujarati, Greek, Italian, Japanese, modern Hebrew, Punjabi, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Turkish, Urdu)
• Philosophy
• Physical education
• Physics
• Politics
• Psychology
• Religious studies
• Sociology
• Spanish
• Statistics
• Other (please specify):

13. And which qualification(s) do you examine in this subject? PLEASE TICK ALL THAT APPLY *

• GCSE
• GCE AS Levels
• GCE A Levels

14. Which of the following aspects of examining do you carry out in this subject? PLEASE TICK ALL THAT APPLY *

• Writing or reviewing exam questions or items
• Marking external exams (including supervising marking)
• Moderating internal assessment (including supervising moderation)

15. How many years of examining experience do you have in this subject? (Do not include CAGs or TAGs, for example, only count 2020 or 2021 if you were involved in normal examining activities.) *

16. How many years of teaching or lecturing experience do you have in this subject?

17. Excluding your PGCE, what is the highest qualification that you have gained in this subject?

• No formal qualification
• GCSE or CSE or O level or equivalent
• A level or equivalent
• Undergraduate degree
• Postgraduate degree
• Doctorate
• Other (please specify):

 18. Do you work as an examiner in any other AS, A level or GCSE subjects? *

• Yes
• No

Please tell us about the second subject you examine.

19. What subject do you examine? *

• Accounting
• Ancient history
• Ancient languages (classical Greek, Latin, biblical Hebrew)
• Art and design
• Astronomy
• Biology
• Business
• Chemistry
• Citizenship studies
• Classical civilisation
• Combined science
• Computer science
• Dance
• Design and technology
• Drama
• Economics
• Electronics
• Engineering
• English language
• English language and literature
• English literature
• Environmental science
• EPQ
• Film studies
• Food and nutrition
• French
• Further mathematics
• Geography
• Geology
• German
• History
• History of art
• HPQ
• Law
• Mathematics
• Media studies
• Music
• Other modern foreign languages (Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, Gujarati, Greek, Italian, Japanese, modern Hebrew, Punjabi, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Turkish, Urdu)
• Philosophy
• Physical education
• Physics
• Politics
• Psychology
• Religious studies
• Sociology
• Spanish
• Statistics
• Other (please specify):

20. And which qualification(s) do you examine in this subject? PLEASE TICK ALL THAT APPLY *

• GCSE
• GCE AS Levels
• GCE A Levels

21. Which of the following aspects of examining do you carry out in this subject? PLEASE TICK ALL THAT APPLY *

• Writing or reviewing exam questions or items
• Marking external exams (including supervising marking)
• Moderating internal assessment (including supervising moderation)

22. How many years of examining experience do you have in this subject? (Do not include CAGs or TAGs, for example, only count 2020 or 2021 if you were involved in normal examining activities.) *

23. How many years of teaching or lecturing experience do you have in this subject?

24. Excluding your PGCE, what is the highest qualification that you have gained in this subject?

• No formal qualification
• GCSE or CSE or O level or equivalent
• A level or equivalent
• Undergraduate degree
• Postgraduate degree
• Doctorate
• Other (please specify):

25. Do you work as an examiner in any other AS, A level or GCSE subjects? *

• Yes
• No

Please tell us about the third subject you examine.

26. What subject do you examine? *

• Accounting
• Ancient history
• Ancient languages (classical Greek, Latin, biblical Hebrew)
• Art and design
• Astronomy
• Biology
• Business
• Chemistry
• Citizenship studies
• Classical civilisation
• Combined science
• Computer science
• Dance
• Design and technology
• Drama
• Economics
• Electronics
• Engineering
• English language
• English language and literature
• English literature
• Environmental science
• EPQ
• Film studies
• Food and nutrition
• French
• Further mathematics
• Geography
• Geology
• German
• History
• History of art
• HPQ
• Law
• Mathematics
• Media studies
• Music
• Other modern foreign languages (Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, Gujarati, Greek, Italian, Japanese, modern Hebrew, Punjabi, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Turkish, Urdu)
• Philosophy
• Physical education
• Physics
• Politics
• Psychology
• Religious studies
• Sociology
• Spanish
• Statistics
• Other (please specify):

27. And which qualification(s) do you examine in this subject? PLEASE TICK ALL THAT APPLY *

• GCSE
• GCE AS Levels
• GCE A Levels

28. Which of the following aspects of examining do you carry out in this subject? PLEASE TICK ALL THAT APPLY *

• Writing or reviewing exam questions or items
• Marking external exams (including supervising marking)
• Moderating internal assessment (including supervising moderation)

29. How many years of examining experience do you have in this subject? (Do not include CAGs or TAGs, for example, only count 2020 or 2021 if you were involved in normal examining activities.) *

30. How many years of teaching or lecturing experience do you have in this subject?

31. Excluding your PGCE, what is the highest qualification that you have gained in this subject?

• No formal qualification
• GCSE or CSE or O level or equivalent
• A level or equivalent
• Undergraduate degree
• Postgraduate degree
• Doctorate
• Other (please specify):

32. Do you work as an examiner in any other AS, A level or GCSE subjects? *

• Yes
• No

Please tell us about the fifth subject you examine.

33. What subject do you examine? *

• Accounting
• Ancient history
• Ancient languages (classical Greek, Latin, biblical Hebrew)
• Art and design
• Astronomy
• Biology
• Business
• Chemistry
• Citizenship studies
• Classical civilisation
• Combined science
• Computer science
• Dance
• Design and technology
• Drama
• Economics
• Electronics
• Engineering
• English language
• English language and literature
• English literature
• Environmental science
• EPQ
• Film studies
• Food and nutrition
• French
• Further mathematics
• Geography
• Geology
• German
• History
• History of art
• HPQ
• Law
• Mathematics
• Media studies
• Music
• Other modern foreign languages (Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, Gujarati, Greek, Italian, Japanese, modern Hebrew, Punjabi, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Turkish, Urdu)
• Philosophy
• Physical education
• Physics
• Politics
• Psychology
• Religious studies
• Sociology
• Spanish
• Statistics
• Other (please specify):

34. And which qualification(s) do you examine in this subject? PLEASE TICK ALL THAT APPLY *

• GCSE
• GCE AS Levels
• GCE A Levels

35. Which of the following aspects of examining do you carry out in this subject? PLEASE TICK ALL THAT APPLY *

• Writing or reviewing exam questions or items
• Marking external exams (including supervising marking)
• Moderating internal assessment (including supervising moderation)

36. How many years of examining experience do you have in this subject? (Do not include CAGs or TAGs, for example, only count 2020 or 2021 if you were involved in normal examining activities.) *

37. How many years of teaching or lecturing experience do you have in this subject?

38. Excluding your PGCE, what is the highest qualification that you have gained in this subject?

• No formal qualification
• GCSE or CSE or O level or equivalent
• A level or equivalent
• Undergraduate degree
• Postgraduate degree
• Doctorate
• Other (please specify):

39. Do you work as an examiner in any other AS, A level or GCSE subjects? *

• Yes
• No

Please tell us about the fifth subject you examine.

40. What subject do you examine? *

• Accounting
• Ancient history
• Ancient languages (classical Greek, Latin, biblical Hebrew)
• Art and design
• Astronomy
• Biology
• Business
• Chemistry
• Citizenship studies
• Classical civilisation
• Combined science
• Computer science
• Dance
• Design and technology
• Drama
• Economics
• Electronics
• Engineering
• English language
• English language and literature
• English literature
• Environmental science
• EPQ
• Film studies
• Food and nutrition
• French
• Further mathematics
• Geography
• Geology
• German
• History
• History of art
• HPQ
• Law
• Mathematics
• Media studies
• Music
• Other modern foreign languages (Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, Gujarati, Greek, Italian, Japanese, modern Hebrew, Punjabi, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Turkish, Urdu)
• Philosophy
• Physical education
• Physics
• Politics
• Psychology
• Religious studies
• Sociology
• Spanish
• Statistics
• Other (please specify):

41. And which qualification(s) do you examine in this subject? PLEASE TICK ALL THAT APPLY *

• GCSE
• GCE AS Levels
• GCE A Levels

42. Which of the following aspects of examining do you carry out in this subject? PLEASE TICK ALL THAT APPLY *

• Writing or reviewing exam questions or items
• Marking external exams (including supervising marking)
• Moderating internal assessment (including supervising moderation)

43. How many years of examining experience do you have in this subject? (Do not include CAGs or TAGs, for example, only count 2020 or 2021 if you were involved in normal examining activities.) *

44. How many years of teaching or lecturing experience do you have in this subject?

45. Excluding your PGCE, what is the highest qualification that you have gained in this subject?

• No formal qualification
• GCSE or CSE or O level or equivalent
• A level or equivalent
• Undergraduate degree
• Postgraduate degree
• Doctorate
• Other (please specify):

46. Why did you want to become an examiner? PLEASE TICK ALL THAT APPLY *

• I wanted to learn more about the specifications that I teach
• I wanted to learn more about the examining process
• Additional income
• Professional development
• To help better prepare my students for assessment
• It was encouraged by my employer
• Another examiner recommended it to me
• The process of determining CAGs or TAGs piqued my interest
• Other

47. Which ONE of these was your main motivation for becoming an examiner? *

• I wanted to learn more about the specifications that I teach
• I wanted to learn more about the examining process
• Additional income
• Professional development
• To help better prepare my students for assessment
• It was encouraged by my employer
• Another examiner recommended it to me
• The process of determining CAGs or TAGs piqued my interest
• Other

48. How would you describe the level of support you are given by your school or centre to carry out your examining duties? *

• Very supportive
• Somewhat supportive
• Neither supportive nor unsupportive
• Somewhat unsupportive
• Very unsupportive
• Not applicable

49. Do you teach or lecture for the same exam board specifications that you examine?*

• Yes – I teach and examine the same specification(s)
• Yes – I teach some of the specifications that I examine
• No
• Not applicable

50. Are you involved in writing or reviewing question papers or items in the same specifications that you teach? *

• Yes
• No
• Not applicable

Now we have a few questions about your experience and perceptions of marking external exams in AS, A level, and GCSE qualifications. (This does not include moderation of internal assessment.)

51. When was the last time you marked external exams?

• I haven’t marked before
• Autumn 2021
• Autumn 2020
• Summer 2019
• Before summer 2019

52. Are you aware of adaptations to assessments in your subject this summer, such as advanced information or optionality?

• Yes
• No
• Not applicable

Adaptations to qualifications this year include changes to coursework requirements, optional content, additional support materials, generous grading, and advance information.

53. Do you expect the adaptations to make marking this summer: *

• More challenging than previous years
• Equally challenging as previous years
• Less challenging than previous years

54. Compared with previous series, is your confidence about marking this summer: *

• Much higher
• Higher
• The same
• Lower
• Much lower

55. Below is a list of some of the different aspects of the examining process. Please tell us which of the following you have carried out. PLEASE TICK ALL THAT APPLY *

• Online or on-screen marking
• Paper-based marking (traditional marking)
• Item-level marking or marking ‘clips’
• Whole script marking
• Sampling and quality checking the marking of others
• Delivering training to examiners
• Running or leading standardisation activities
• Awarding of qualifications
• Carrying out post-results reviews of marking
• Marking oral exams

56. Do you carry out your marking online or with hardcopies of scripts (traditional marking)? (Do not include moderation of internal assessment.) *

• Predominantly in hardcopy
• Predominantly online
• Equally online and in hardcopy

57. Are you standardised online or in face-to-face meetings? *

• Predominantly face to face standardisation
• Predominantly online standardisation
• Equally online and face to face

58. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements about the challenges involved in marking? *

	Strongly agree	Agree	Neither agree nor disagree	Disagree	Strongly disagree	Not applicable
Fitting examining work in around other work commitments is challenging
Completing marking to a deadline is challenging
Passing exam board quality assurance checks during live marking is challenging
I feel pressure knowing that my marking is important to the future lives of students
I feel pressure knowing that my marking is important to schools and colleges

59. Thinking about your most recent experience of marking external exams, how much do you agree or disagree with the following statements? *

	Strongly agree	Agree	Neither agree nor disagree	Disagree	Strongly disagree	Not applicable
I have received sufficient training to allow me to mark to a high standard
I receive sufficient briefing about a paper and mark scheme before I begin my marking for each exam
I receive useful feedback about my marking during the marking process
I receive useful feedback about my performance after the marking process
I have adequate guidance materials and instructions to refer to when marking
I can access support when I encounter a problem during marking
I have enough contact with my senior examiner or marking supervisor during marking
I am confident in my ability to mark accurately and reliably
External examinations are marked accurately and reliably in my exam board

60. Next we would like to ask you about mark schemes. How much do you agree or disagree with the following statements? *

	Strongly agree	Agree	Neither agree nor disagree	Disagree	Strongly disagree
In my experience, mark schemes contain sufficient detail
In my experience, mark schemes are clear and unambiguous
I feel confident when using a mark scheme in my subject (or unit)

The following questions ask about your experience of different aspects of moderation of internal assessment in AS, A level, and GCSE qualifications.

61. When was the last time you moderated internal assessment? *

• I haven’t moderated before
• Autumn 2021
• Autumn 2020
• Summer 2019
• Before summer 2019

62. Are you aware of adaptations to internal assessments in your subject this summer, such as changes to coursework or optionality? *

• Yes
• No
• Not applicable

Adaptations to qualifications this year include changes to coursework requirements, optional content, additional support materials, generous grading, and advance information.

63. Do you expect the adaptations to make moderation this summer: *

• More challenging than previous years
• Equally challenging as previous years
• Less challenging than previous years

64. Compared with previous series, is your confidence about moderating this summer: *

• Much higher
• Higher
• The same
• Lower
• Much lower

65. Below is a list of some of the different aspects of moderation. Please tell us which of the following you have carried out. PLEASE TICK ALL THAT APPLY *

• Visiting moderation in centres
• Moderation of internal assessment in hard copy
• Moderation of internal assessment online
• Sampling and quality checking the work of other external moderators
• Delivering training to moderators
• Leading standardisation activities
• Awarding of qualifications
• Carrying out post-results Reviews of Moderation

66. Are you standardised online or in face-to-face meetings? *

• Predominantly face to face standardisation
• Predominantly online standardisation
• Equally online and face to face

67. How much do you agree or disagree with the following statements about the challenges involved in moderating? *

	Strongly agree	Agree	Neither agree nor disagree	Disagree	Strongly disagree	Not applicable
Fitting moderation work in around other work commitments is challenging
Completing moderation to deadline is challenging
Passing exam board quality assurance checks during live moderation is challenging
I feel pressure knowing that my moderation is important to the future lives of students
I feel pressure knowing that my moderation is important to schools and colleges

68. Thinking about your most recent experience of moderating internal assessment, how much do you agree or disagree with the following statements? *

	Strongly agree	Agree	Neither agree nor disagree	Disagree	Strongly disagree	Not applicable
I clearly understand the aim of moderation
I have received sufficient training to allow me to moderate to a high standard
I receive sufficient briefing about the assessment criteria before I begin moderating
I receive useful feedback about my performance during the moderation window
I receive useful feedback about my performance after the moderation window
I have adequate guidance materials and instructions to refer to when moderating
I can access support when I encounter a problem when moderating
I have enough contact with my senior moderator moderation supervisor during moderation
I am confident in my ability to moderate accurately and reliably
In my experience, internal assessment is marked accurately and reliably by centres
Internal assessment is moderated accurately and reliably in my exam board

The following questions ask about your experience in your senior or team leader examining or moderating role in AS, A level, and GCSE qualifications.

69. Have you held a senior or team leader examining or moderating role? *

• Yes
• No

70. How much do you agree or disagree with the following statements? *

	Strongly agree	Agree	Neither agree nor disagree	Disagree	Strongly disagree	Not applicable
I am confident leading standardisation activities
I am confident in setting and communicating the standard to other markers or moderators
I am confident monitoring the work of other markers or moderators
I am confident giving support and feedback to other markers or moderators
I am clear when intervention is necessary to address unsatisfactory performance, including stopping a marker or moderator from continuing in their role
I have had sufficient training to help me meet the requirements of my senior examiner role
There is a potential conflict of interest between my teaching and exam setting roles
I find it difficult managing the potential conflict between my teaching and exam setting roles
I receive sufficient support from my exam board in managing any conflict between my teaching and exam setting roles

The following questions ask about your experience as a writer or reviewer of assessments in AS, A level and GCSE qualifications.

71. Have you had experience writing or reviewing assessments in AS, A level and GCSE qualifications? *

• Yes
• No

72. Thinking about your most recent experience of writing or reviewing assessments, how much do you agree or disagree with the following statements? *

	Strongly agree	Agree	Neither agree nor disagree	Disagree	Strongly disagree	Not applicable
I have received sufficient training to allow me to write and design assessments to a high standard
I receive sufficient briefing before I begin writing and designing assessments
I have sufficient support during the assessment production process

Before we finish, we have some questions about your job satisfaction and your intention to continue examining in future. When answering these questions, please think about any work that you do either marking, moderating or producing GCSEs, AS and A level assessments.

73. How much do you agree with the following statements? *

	Strongly agree	Agree	Neither agree nor disagree	Disagree	Strongly disagree	Not applicable
Overall, I am satisfied in my role as examiner
I enjoy my examining work
My examining work is challenging
My examining work is meaningful
My examining role is stressful
My examining workload is realistic
I am paid sufficiently for my examining work
I have a good working relationship with my senior examiner
I am proud of my role as an examiner
I intend to continue examining for the foreseeable future
I would recommend examining to a colleague

74. From this year students will be able to access all marked scripts, including all annotations. Are you aware of this change? *

• Yes
• No

Finally, we have a couple of demographic questions so that we can better understand the profile of examiners. 

75. Firstly, what is your age?

76. Are you male or female? *

• Male
• Female
• Prefer not to say

77. What is your ethnic background?

• Asian or Asian British
• Indian
• Pakistani
• Bangladeshi
• Chinese
• Any other Asian background (please specify below)
• Black, Black British, Caribbean or African
• Caribbean
• African
• Any other Black, Black British, or Caribbean background (please specify below)
• Mixed or multiple ethnic groups
• White and Black Caribbean
• White and Black African
• White and Asian
• Any other Mixed or multiple ethnic background (please specify below)
• White
• English, Welsh, Scottish, Northern Irish or British
• Irish
• Gypsy or Irish Traveller
• Roma
• Any other White background (please specify below)
• Other ethnic group
• Arab
• Any other ethnic group (please specify below)
• I do not wish to disclose my ethnic origin
• Any other ethnic group  

 78. What region of the UK do you live in? *

• East Midlands
• East of England
• London
• North East
• North West
• South East
• South West
• West Midlands
• Yorkshire and the Humber
• Wales
• Scotland
• Northern Ireland
• Outside the UK
• Prefer not to say

79. Aside from examining work, are you retired? *

• Yes
• No
• Prefer not to say

1. Respondents were instructed not to include their involvement in producing their own centres’ CAGs (2020) and TAGs (2021). ↩

2. In 2018 we asked exam boards to send the survey to assessment writers who had been involved in writing assessments in the previous 2 years. We did not specify this in 2022 given the disruption from the pandemic. ↩