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Why is 59/60 not full UMS in Edexcel GCSE.

According to Edexcel Maths GCSE mark schemes, if I lose 1 mark in a paper (59/60) I cannot get full UMS. The mark schemes say you have to get full marks to achieve full UMS. Is this definitely the case or can you get full UMS with something like 57/60?

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Original post by dp00
According to Edexcel Maths GCSE mark schemes, if I lose 1 mark in a paper (59/60) I cannot get full UMS. The mark schemes say you have to get full marks to achieve full UMS. Is this definitely the case or can you get full UMS with something like 57/60?


Not sure I understand the logic of your question.
Why should you get effectively 100% of the marks for a paper you got things wrong on?
Some times if a paper is more difficult that the intent of the specification then full ums is awarded for less than full marks, that's why grade boundaries move from year to year to balance out any variation with modular qualifications. But if a paper meets the required standard or indeed is easier than intended then full ums=full marks.


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(edited 7 years ago)
Reply 2
Avatar for fefssdf
fefssdf
20
mate you should wait till you do A-level maths where you literally have to get everything right for 100ums... even for C4
If full marks wasn't full UMS then people with full marks would be indistinguishable from people who missed a few, which isn't really fair on them. The whole point of marking is to show which candidates did best. Often in essay subjects you get leeway because of subjectivity but maths is a subject where answers are right or wrong and quite a few people do get full marks.
Original post by sindyscape62
If full marks wasn't full UMS then people with full marks would be indistinguishable from people who missed a few, which isn't really fair on them. The whole point of marking is to show which candidates did best. Often in essay subjects you get leeway because of subjectivity but maths is a subject where answers are right or wrong and quite a few people do get full marks.


Original post by gdunne42
Not sure I understand the logic of your question.
Why should you get effectively 100% of the marks for a paper you got things wrong on?
Some times if a paper is more difficult that the intent of the specification then full ums is awarded for less than full marks, that's why grade boundaries move from year to year to balance out any variation with modular qualifications. But if a paper meets the required standard or indeed is easier than intended then full ums=full marks.


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But in AQA's GCSE Listening and Reading exams, you can get 60 UMS if you get a few marks above the A* boundary. There is usually some movement in the UMS by a few marks.
Original post by dp00
According to Edexcel Maths GCSE mark schemes, if I lose 1 mark in a paper (59/60) I cannot get full UMS. The mark schemes say you have to get full marks to achieve full UMS. Is this definitely the case or can you get full UMS with something like 57/60?


Are you referring to Edexcel Linear Mathematics A or Mathematics B?

If you are talking about linear maths, UMS is not used. Only a grade is awarded and raw mark recorded.

If you're talking about spec B, then it may just be high boundaries.
I think for linear qualifications there aren't any UMS. Or at least that's the case for AQA Linear Maths B.
I know what you mean. I got 69/70 raw marks in my unit 1 chemistry and that was full UMS
UMS is dependent on how the rest of the country did. If the exam was easier in one year where lots of people did really well, even if you drop one mark then you might not get the full amount of available UMS. If the exam was relatively difficult then you could drop three marks and get full UMS.

Getting high UMS at GCSE is unimportant anyway and has little utility beyond your own satisfaction. Like fefssdf said, you can't count on consistently getting full UMS at A Level.



I'm pretty sure it's the same for all the exam boards; however, a couple 'freak' papers occasionally buck the trend. According to my maths teacher, there was a FP1 paper (which I assume you won't be doing whatever happens) which a 80 UMS was around 65%.

You shouldn't get deterred from maths just because the UMS system operates this way.
Reply 9
Avatar for fefssdf
fefssdf
20
Yh but don't worry cause even though the 100ums boundary is high, maths has one of the highest percentages of people getting an A* and A out of all subjects regardless of the exam board.

I would strongly suggest choosing maths as it is very easy to revise given how easy it is to access YouTube tutorials, the volume of questions in the textbooks and past papers/ practice ones abailable to track your progress. As long as you do revise you will easily get an A ! Obviously if you get like a B at GCSE then alevel maths probably isn't the best idea however as you do have to have good algebra skills to do well
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by BasicMistake
UMS is dependent on how the rest of the country did. If the exam was easier in one year where lots of people did really well, even if you drop one mark then you might not get the full amount of available UMS. If the exam was relatively difficult then you could drop three marks and get full UMS.

Getting high UMS at GCSE is unimportant anyway and has little utility beyond your own satisfaction. Like fefssdf said, you can't count on consistently getting full UMS at A Level.



I'm pretty sure it's the same for all the exam boards; however, a couple 'freak' papers occasionally buck the trend. According to my maths teacher, there was a FP1 paper (which I assume you won't be doing whatever happens) which a 80 UMS was around 65%.

You shouldn't get deterred from maths just because the UMS system operates this way.


Ah I'm glad I didn't sit that fp1 paper then cause it must've been pretty mad !!
Yh I have a high A* for GCSE ( 175/200 ) lol but I'm not getting an A* at alevel ; should just be an A lol but still good
Original post by sindyscape62
If full marks wasn't full UMS then people with full marks would be indistinguishable from people who missed a few, which isn't really fair on them. The whole point of marking is to show which candidates did best. Often in essay subjects you get leeway because of subjectivity but maths is a subject where answers are right or wrong and quite a few people do get full marks.


For AQA A psychology, in unit 3 57/72 is 100ums LMAO, so hoping I got close to 100 but if I did get it I'd have no idea what I had got between 57-72 marks which seems dumb like someone could get 10 more marks than me but gets the same ums but then again it is pretty impossible to get full marks in that exam !
Original post by fefssdf
mate you should wait till you do A-level maths where you literally have to get everything right for 100ums... even for C4


no the most recent 2 years have not been 75 for full
Original post by Student403
no the most recent 2 years have not been 75 for full


Isn't it still like 74/75 though
Original post by fefssdf
Isn't it still like 74/75 though


idk

but it's not full :tongue:
Original post by dp00
According to Edexcel Maths GCSE mark schemes, if I lose 1 mark in a paper (59/60) I cannot get full UMS. The mark schemes say you have to get full marks to achieve full UMS. Is this definitely the case or can you get full UMS with something like 57/60?


Who cares about what your unit UMS is at GCSE. Unless Cambridge has taken their UMS
OCD to the next level.
Original post by fefssdf
For AQA A psychology, in unit 3 57/72 is 100ums LMAO, so hoping I got close to 100 but if I did get it I'd have no idea what I had got between 57-72 marks which seems dumb like someone could get 10 more marks than me but gets the same ums but then again it is pretty impossible to get full marks in that exam !


AQA biology is the same- in 2015 full UMS in unit 5 was 72/100! It's because of the completely random mark schemes for some of the longer questions. Whether you write down the right thing and get the marks is complete luck in some places- hated that course so much.
Original post by sindyscape62
AQA biology is the same- in 2015 full UMS in unit 5 was 72/100! It's because of the completely random mark schemes for some of the longer questions. Whether you write down the right thing and get the marks is complete luck in some places- hated that course so much.


Haha Yh wow I gave up on AQA bio after getting a U in the mock lol but have heard how picky the mark scheme is like you write ' long ' and not ' tall ' and don't get the mark LMAO
Original post by fefssdf
Haha Yh wow I gave up on AQA bio after getting a U in the mock lol but have heard how picky the mark scheme is like you write ' long ' and not ' tall ' and don't get the mark LMAO


Marking past papers was so weird because I'd get less than half marks on most of the long questions, think I'd done awfully then check the mark scheme and I'm one mark off an A*. I honestly have no idea how I did in the real ones- it's my fourth A level though so I'm not really bothered :wink:

I definitely prefer the maths exams where you actually feel you've done well when you come out.

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