A* at A level question thread

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I'm really confused about the whole A* thing as I've been hearing conflicting things. My teacher says you need an A at AS to get an A* at A2, but my friends say that you can still get A* with a B in AS? Who is right?

Reply 901

Vampire-Love4ever

Original post by Naami

Your friend is right. (:

You have to meet the 480/600 requirement for the whole A-level even with a B in AS. Just work really hard for your A2. (:

Reply 902

Naami

Original post by Vampire-Love4ever

Your friend is right. (:

You have to meet the 480/600 requirement for the whole A-level even with a B in AS. Just work really hard for your A2. (:

Thanks! x

Reply 903

datmadhatter

Original post by Gemini92

You need at least 180 UMS in each subject at A2 to get the A*, as that would satisfy the 90% at A2 condition and the 80% overall condition.

Would that 180 UMS have to be achieved by gaining 90 in each unit? Or could it be done by scoring 80 in one and 100 in the other?

Reply 904

Good bloke

Original post by datmadhatter

Would that 180 UMS have to be achieved by gaining 90 in each unit? Or could it be done by scoring 80 in one and 100 in the other?

The answer is in the first post of this thread. Read it carefully.

Reply 905

hol95

How do you get an A* at Psychology?

Reply 906

TitchTheAntiHero

oh thats good I was told you had to get 90%+ in BOTH units at A2, less scary that it's average

Reply 907

bmdx

how many people here ACTUALLY read the first post before asking other people to do their leg work for them?

Reply 908

kanra

Original post by letsdothetimewarpagain

What mark do you need to be able to receive an A*?

*80% UMS overall
*90% UMS Overall for the A2 units

Could someone tell me what UMS actually is and if it works the same way in A Level as it did back in GCSE?

I remember getting marks like 36/45 in GCSE science practice papers which were apparently 100 UMS - never made sense to me, but I've never really thought to ask until now.

Reply 909

JakeE10

I got 154/200 at AS in German (6 UMS off an A) or 77%.
I'm predicted an A but is it still possible for me to get an A* if i really push myself??
or is it not possible?

Thanks if you could help :biggrin:

Reply 910

abc:)

If anyone here wants an A*, get off TSR for a start

Reply 911

Slovebeach

Original post by JakeE10

It's technically possible to get an A* from 60% in the AS if you get 100% in the A2.

Assuming two students are of equal ability, getting 100% at AS actually provides no advantage at getting an A* over getting 70% at AS. If you can get 90% in the A2, as anyone else who wanted an A* needs, you will get one.

Reply 912

-Haz-

Original post by letsdothetimewarpagain

My A2 units add up to an A* but I got a B overall. Why is this?

You need to achieve an A grade across all the A Level units – both AS and A2. In this case, you may not have done as well in your AS units and you may
wish to consider whether you should re-sit your AS units to improve your overall grade.

I haven’t read the whole thread so apologies if someone has already queried this.
For AS in psychology I got a B in the smaller unit and a very high A in the other, so an A overall. My teacher said I might be able to aim for an A* and seemed to think I could still get that even with having a B in the smaller unit. So is she mistaken? Will I have to re-sit the unit I got the B in to be able to get the A*?

Reply 913

Good bloke

Original post by -Haz-

I haven’t read the whole thread

You haven't even read the first post in the thread, which answers your question.

Reply 914

-Haz-

Original post by Good bloke

You haven't even read the first post in the thread, which answers your question.

I did read the first post (I even quoted it) I was after confirmation as it isn’t that clear and I’ve been told otherwise by my teacher. Plus someone has said otherwise on the previous page, so there’s obviously some misinformation going on here.

But forget it. Despite being called the ‘A* at A level question thread’ it seems that questions aren’t really welcomed. Lots of people have asked questions simply to be told ‘you haven’t read the first post!’, well perhaps some people are after a bit of elaboration on something that’s been mentioned in the first post.

Reply 915

Good bloke

Original post by -Haz-

I’ve been told otherwise by my teacher.

Then your teacher is wrong; what is in the OP is accurate and authoritative.

How can i get a B

Original post by mrdreamerstar

How can i get a B

70% overall.

Reply 918

-Haz-

Original post by Good bloke

Then your teacher is wrong; what is in the OP is accurate and authoritative.

This is from Ofqual:

Is it true that a candidate can miss out on an A* grade, even if they get more marks than someone who does get one?

Yes. To get an A*, candidates have to get an A overall and score 90 per cent or more of the total marks available in the more challenging A2 papers. This means that it is not just the number of marks that count, but also which part of the qualification they are scored in.

For example, Student X achieves a grade B at AS level, scoring 145 out of a possible 200 marks, and then does very well at A2, achieving 180 marks out of 200. She has therefore passed the A grade threshold at A level with a total of 325 out of a possible 400 marks.

Student Y achieves a grade A at AS, getting 190 out of 200 marks, but does less well at A2, achieving 140 marks out of 200. He has therefore also passed the threshold for an A grade overall at A level with a total of 330 marks out of a possible 400.

Both students have made the 320 marks threshold for an A grade for this A level. However, only Student X would receive an A* grade even though her overall score is lower – she achieved 90 per cent or more of the available marks at A2, while Student Y did not.

So you don’t need an A in all units, you need to get an A overall with 90% of marks in A2.

I got 180/200 at AS, so if I get the same again at A2 (90%) I’ll have the A*.

So my teacher is right.. I can still get an A* with a B in one unit.

Reply 919

Good bloke

Original post by -Haz-

So my teacher is right.. I can still get an A* with a B in one unit.

Yes you can. Sorry for the confusion, I didn't check your original question when you said your teacher differed from the OP. The OP is correct, so I don't understand why you claimed your teacher was contradicting it.