The National Association of Examinations Officers (NAEO) conducts a survey each year to ascertain the status of the exams officer community and issues which are causing concern and need to be addressed.
This annual survey is conducted during October each year, and results in action, not just reflection. As its founding principles state, the NAEO:
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Represents the views of, and issues faced by, the exams officer community
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Supports exams officers in their professional development and at centre level
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Influences educational decision-makers when devising policy which impacts upon the exams officer community
2025 Exams Officer Survey
Click here to download the responses to the 2025 survey
Click here to view an analysis and summary of the 2025 survey
2025 Exams Officer Survey summary
The 2025 exams officer survey took place between 29 September and 31 October 2025, with 1400 exams officers providing responses. This represents 20-25% of all exams officers.
It should be noted that new exams officers are less likely to participate, and therefore, the feedback is more representative of those established within the role.
The main exam-related issues for the exams officer community are (in order of significance):
- Arranging exam rooms – largely due to the number of students awarded access arrangements
- Number of different systems used by awarding organisations
- Dealing with parental/candidate requests for alternative rooming/general access arrangements
- Sourcing, recruiting and training invigilators
- Printing of question papers onto coloured paper
- Number of different deadlines for the different awarding organisations
The main outcomes from the 2025 survey are:
Positive Developments:
- Improved salaries
- Manageable volume of examination administration
- Enhanced professional development opportunities
- High awareness of JCQ cyber security guidance
Key challenges:
- Limited support during peak periods
- Additional responsibilities and administrative tasks
- Term-time-only contracts with short notice periods
- Insufficient collaboration with SENCOs, affecting access arrangements
- Senior leaders lacking knowledge of JCQ regulations, undermining compliance
- Exams officers feeling undervalued
- Inadequate contingency and succession planning in most centres