Ofqual reports 21 per cent reduction in exam errors

Ofqual has released its annual report for the 2019-20 financial year.

It reveals that there has been a 21% reduction in question paper errors in 2019; there were 90 errors identified in 2018, compared to 71 errors in 2019.

Ofqual said it did not consider the impact of the of the errors mitigated in 2019 to be "significant".

Ofqual also said it was still "disappointing" to see 71 errors identified in question papers, non-exam assessments and materials.

The report also examined what happened with the leak of a Pearson A level maths paper, which it called "the most significant security breach in 2019".

It said that Pearson had been targeted in previous years, so due to additional security steps, Pearson was able to quickly identify the source of the leak and those students who were most likely to have had prior access to the materials. It placed sanctions on two staff and 21 students; this included disqualifying 16 students (with eight of these being further debarred) and issuing warnings to an additional five.

Ofqual said "We were satisfied that Pearson took appropriate steps to secure the delivery of the 2019 exam and made sure that students were treated fairly. The police launched a criminal investigation in relation to this incident, which is ongoing at the time of writing this report."