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Tips for getting high UMS in A levels?

Hi for my A levels I really want to get good UMS marks not only good grades, what are your tips for this? Thanks for your help :smile:

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Reply 1
Original post by funky386
Hi for my A levels I really want to get good UMS marks not only good grades, what are your tips for this? Thanks for your help :smile:


If you are taking reformed A levels then UMS has been abolished. The current intention is that results issued directly to schools will contain only the overall grade.
[QUOTE=Compost;62232177]If you are taking reformed A levels then UMS has been abolished. The current intention is that results issued directly to schools will contain only the overall grade.

Source? Haven't heard of this
Reply 3
Original post by Compost
If you are taking reformed A levels then UMS has been abolished. The current intention is that results issued directly to schools will contain only the overall grade.


How are you meant to challenge a grade or mark then?
Reply 4
Original post by Compost
If you are taking reformed A levels then UMS has been abolished. The current intention is that results issued directly to schools will contain only the overall grade.


WHAT?! so how do you know how far off the next grade you were? and how would boundaries work?

OP just know your stuff really well and attempt every past paper question ever until it's perfected and you're good to go! :smile:
start now though...
Reply 5
Original post by Compost
If you are taking reformed A levels then UMS has been abolished. The current intention is that results issued directly to schools will contain only the overall grade.


There may not be UMS as we know it now but that does not mean there won't be marks.

https://ofqual.blog.gov.uk/2015/08/14/a-level-awarding-in-2016-and-2017/
- Make sure you have notes that are of quality in one place
- Do every past paper you have access to at least twice
- Practice over and over again
- Begin exam preparation now
[QUOTE=jneill;62232385]There may not be UMS as we know it now but that does not mean there won't be marks.

https://ofqual.blog.gov.uk/2015/08/14/a-level-awarding-in-2016-and-2017/

Hello, can you please explain what is meant by this?

'If we want to maintain standards in the transition from current to reformed qualifications, we believe the best way to do this is to set the A* boundary using predictions based on the cohort’s prior attainment at GCSE.'
whilst doing a paper don't just think like an examiner, become the examiner. :u:
Wait what does that mean if there's no UMS?
the more hours the better andthe more questions the better
Reply 11
Past papers past papers past papers. Again and again. Do the old ones too.

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Reply 12
Original post by teenhorrorstory
Hello, can you please explain what is meant by this?

'If we want to maintain standards in the transition from current to reformed qualifications, we believe the best way to do this is to set the A* boundary using predictions based on the cohort’s prior attainment at GCSE.'


Edit to say: found this
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/474099/08_15_-_Awarding_Reformed_AS_and_A_Levels.pdf

Original post by funky386
Wait what does that mean if there's no UMS?


There is nothing that says there won't be "marks" afaik, they might not be called UMS though.
(edited 8 years ago)
The new A levels are linear qualifications. Just like other linear qualifications (e.g. GCSE Linear Math and IGCSEs) all that is automatically supplied to schools is a grade. Equally, just like other linear qualifications, there will no be UMS, just overall qualification grade boundaries which will vary with each exam season. This means that even if you do get the marks from your school, you probably won't be able to tell how well you did on individual papers compared to other people - getting 60 on both units could put you near the top on one paper and near the bottom on the other. (AQA issue indicative grade boundaries at a and c, but not all boards do.) (In case you think it will be different for these linear qualifications because you want it to be, I have checked the results software and there is nowhere for a mark to be entered and I have asked AQA and Edexcel and they confirm it.)

Schools will be able to download marks from the secure sites but this comes in a different form from each exam board and trying to collate that and then produce an accurate mail merge to provide individual results sheets for all candidates as well as everything else that has to be done in the 24 hours before results day may not be feasible. I'm grappling to come up with a workable plan for my school and this year we only have to worry about AS results. If you want to know marks you will probably have to specifically ask your school -either your teacher or exams officer, depending how your school operates.

All this is more information that used to be available years ago, but for a generation brought up on knowing details of their marks I think it's going to be a nightmare. I have raised this in several places but I don't expect much is going to change before the summer.
(edited 8 years ago)
[QUOTE=jneill;62232589]Edit to say: found this
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/474099/08_15_-_Awarding_Reformed_AS_and_A_Levels.pdf



There is nothing that says there won't be "marks" afaik, they might not be called UMS though.
Thank you. I still really don't get what they're trying to say lol.
Original post by teenhorrorstory
Source? Haven't heard of this


See my post (post 14) a few minutes ago. I'm an exams officer and it's something I've been looking into for a while as I can see it's going to be a nightmare in August.
[QUOTE=Compost;62233077]See my post (post 14) a few minutes ago. I'm an exams officer and it's something I've been looking into for a while as I can see it's going to be a nightmare in August.
Can you please explain how they're determining the grade boundaries? Is it like GCSE where it changes depending on the overall performance of candidates, or is fixed, or is a certain grade limited to a certain % of candidates?
Reply 17
Original post by Compost
See my post (post 14) a few minutes ago. I'm an exams officer and it's something I've been looking into for a while as I can see it's going to be a nightmare in August.


Interesting! And can you comment on how they are using GCSE performance to set A-Level A* boundaries? (As per the links in my earlier posts)
Original post by teenhorrorstory
Can you please explain how they're determining the grade boundaries? Is it like GCSE where it changes depending on the overall performance of candidates, or is fixed, or is a certain grade limited to a certain % of candidates?


Try this:
http://store.aqa.org.uk/over/pdf/GUIDETOSTANDARDSETTING.PDF
though our Head of Chemistry and I are still arguing over some of the exact interpretation of this for the linear A levels.
Reply 19
Original post by Compost
Try this:
http://store.aqa.org.uk/over/pdf/GUIDETOSTANDARDSETTING.PDF
though our Head of Chemistry and I are still arguing over some of the exact interpretation of this for the linear A levels.


I note that says: "Uniform marks and grades are reported for each unit, as well as for the overall qualification."

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