Examiners say that marking brings benefits to their teaching careers, according to Ofqual’s latest survey of examiners.

Survey results also report that many examiners are positive about how much they enjoy examining and value the importance of the work.  The results show that examiners have high levels of both teaching and examining experience, and are keen to continue examining despite changes to awarding seen during the pandemic.

Other findings from Ofqual’s survey of nearly 15,000 examiners – a quarter of the workforce - include:

• 72% of surveyed examiners are currently teaching, and 27% are former teachers.
• On average, examiners have 10 years’ examining experience and 20 years’ teaching experience.
• Around 12% of survey respondents are new to examining.
• Helping to prepare students for assessments is the main motivator to examine.  Other factors include support for professional development and additional income.
• About 90% of respondents examine only one subject.
• Examiners appear to be a highly satisfied workforce. Over 80% of respondents say they are satisfied with their job as examiners, and a high proportion find their role meaningful (93%) and report taking great pride in their work (90%). However, some examiners report unsatisfactory pay associated with their examining role, and over half believe their role is stressful, knowing that their work is important to the future lives of students.
• Most respondents have a very positive outlook on the marking process with 97% of markers saying they are confident in their ability to mark accurately and reliably.
• The average age of examiners in the survey is 49 – marginally older on average than the teacher workforce – and respondents are predominantly female (68%).