Exams regulator Ofqual has pulled an article containing key information and guidance for schools about the use of mock exam results for appeals, just hours after it was published.
The article explaining how schools could appeal exam results on the basis of students having achieved higher mock exam results was removed from the gov.uk website on Saturday evening.
A new statement was also published saying;
‘Earlier today we published information about mock exam results in appeals. This policy is being reviewed by the Ofqual Board and further information will be published in due course.’
The guidance had been published earlier on Saturday and was designed to set out criteria that schools must have met in order for mock exam results to be considered valid for use in results appeals.
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson announced before A-Level results day this week that students would be able to appeal their results handed down from exam boards if they received a higher grade in a mock exam. Concerns were though raised that schools carry out mock exams in many different ways and Ofqual was asked to design a way to make the use of mock exam results fair.
The guidance published by Ofqual, which has since been removed, set out a list of criteria that schools needed to have met, such as for mock exams to have been carried out in exam-like conditions and under normal time limits.
The guidance was published online and was also linked in a letter to school and college headteachers from Schools Minister Nick Gibb.
The link now redirects to the Ofqual homepage on the government’s website.
With nearly 40% of this year’s results downgraded from teacher predictions, thousands of appeals are expected. The appeals process had been due to start on Monday, though exactly how and when the process can begin is now uncertain.
