Private school students more likely to ask for revision of O’level grades

Students hailing from private independent and church schools are more likely to apply for revision of O level exam papers, MATSEC study finds

Although only 7.8% of candidates who sat for the Maltese O’level hailed from independent school candidates, 29.8% of these candidates demanded a revision of papers
Although only 7.8% of candidates who sat for the Maltese O’level hailed from independent school candidates, 29.8% of these candidates demanded a revision of papers

Students hailing from independent schools and church schools are more likely to apply for a revision of O’level exam papers, a service offered by the MATSEC Support Unit where a new examiner corrects the paper of the candidate against a fee of €35.

This emerges from a study published by MATSEC Support Unit of the University of Malta.

In cases where an error in the original marking is found, the grade of the candidate is revised only if this results in an upgrade. 

Although only 7.8% of candidates who sat for the Maltese O’level hailed from independent school candidates, 29.8% of these candidates demanded a revision of papers. On the other hand while candidates from state schools accounted for 46% of candidates, only 13% of these candidates applied for a revision of their mark in Maltese: an indication of the linguistic proficiency between state and non-state school students.

151 students applied for a revision of their Maths paper, 88 their English paper and 84 the Maltese paper. According to the report such subjects can be considered to be more ‘high-stakes’ than others.
151 students applied for a revision of their Maths paper, 88 their English paper and 84 the Maltese paper. According to the report such subjects can be considered to be more ‘high-stakes’ than others.

Indeed the statistics show that students from independent schools were most likely to demand a revision of paper of their Maltese O’level exam, but were less likely to demand a revision of paper for English and Physics (21%) and Maths (15%). Candidates from Church schools were most likely to demand a revision of their mark in Physics (48%) and Chemistry (50%).

The 2016 data suggests that independent school candidates were more likely to apply for a revision of papers in more than one subject.

While most candidates apply for one revision of paper, a number of candidates apply for two or more, with one candidate in 2016 applying for a total of 10 revision of papers. 

151 students applied for a revision of their Maths paper, 88 their English paper and 84 the Maltese paper. According to the report such subjects can be considered to be more ‘high-stakes’ than others. 

However, Religious Knowledge, Italian, Environmental Studies and French, boasting of 3,364, 1,814, 1,392, and 1,216 candidates respectively, only had 15, seven, 16, and five respective demands for a revision of paper. 

In 2015, just 26 of the 609 requests for revision of papers after the May session and three of the 106 further requests after the September session, had their grades changed. This suggests that results have been changed in only 4.1% of all cases.

Male candidates seemed more likely than females to apply to have their papers revised for the 2016 examinations.

According to the report this difference cannot be explained entirely by better female performance in most subjects. In Physics, for instance, although males outperformed females, they were still more likely to apply for a revision of papers.