Corrections and review

A correction is not an edit. It is a record of a change: what the value was, what it became, who asked, why, and who approved it. That distinction is the whole of this page, and it is the difference between a school that can answer a question about last term and one that cannot.

The four steps

1. Recorded. The original mark, with the person who entered it and the moment they did.
2. Requested. Someone asks for a change and states a reason.
3. Reviewed. On the plans that include review, a second person approves it, and they cannot be the person who asked.
4. New version. The mark's current value becomes the new one, and the old value stays visible with both names on it.

What a correction does not change

A published result is a snapshot. It was calculated from the marks as they stood on the day it was issued, and a later correction produces a new result rather than editing the old one. A school can therefore show what it published and what it would publish now, and the two can differ without either being wrong.

When review is worth it

Review costs a second pair of eyes and saves a disputed term. It is worth requiring for examination marks and for any mark that moves a published result; it is usually unnecessary for a mark corrected minutes after it was entered, which is the case a school notices most often.