15 August 2013 A-Level results: Grade boundaries

Yeah I agree, that would have been scary :/ Can't argue with it! What grade are you hoping for in F215?

Source: From their twitter that isn't verified and contradicted itself Also: http://www.edexcel.com/iwantto/Pages/ums-mark-converter.aspx at the bottom ''the day before results''

Are the grades out? Please confirm

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CCEA grade boundaries are up: http://www.rewardinglearning.org.uk/qualifications/administration/post_results_3.asp

They're UMS boundaries - they're the same every year. It's always 80% for an A, 70% for a B etc.

Edexcel stop crashing!!!

Does anyone else feel that the AQA Chem2 grade boundaries are pretty high considering that the paper wasn't exactly easy? (77/100 for an A)

WJEC come on!

think its cost me my firm choice you?

Thursday 15 August A-Level results day - Grade Boundaries

TSR wishes the best of luck to all those collecting results. Many exam boards will release the UMS grade boundaries before they release your actual results. This thread will serve 2 functions; to provide quick links to the grade boundaries for each exam board when they are released and to ask and answer any questions relating to grade boundaries. But please read the FAQs before posting.

We will aim to update this thread as soon as the grade boundaries are released. If you find any useful official links that have been made public but are not hyperlinked in this thread then please post in this thread, quoting a moderator so that the link can be added.

Published grade boundaries


Please visit the Results day discussion thread for general results discussion. For those of you in year 12 who have just collected your AS results, you can head over to AS-Levels: what next after results? If you would like to share your results and predictions then please visit the Post your results thread. For those of you who are disappointed, please visit the thread Didn't do as well as you'd hoped? Advice here! for further guidance.

FAQs

What do the boundaries mean?
The boundaries will show you the raw mark on a paper required to achieve a particular grade. For example, a particular Chemistry module may have a C grade boundary of 43/80 raw marks.

What does each grade correspond to?
Each grade follows the UMS system. So an E is 40%, a D is 50%, a C is 60%, a B is 70% and an A is 80%. This percentage reflects the proportion of marks available in that module. Some modules carry more marks than others.

Why do grade boundaries change?
Grade boundaries reflect the modular A Level system. In the interest of fairness, a particular level of performance on a paper should be awarded the same grade irregardless of the inferred difficulty of the paper. Therefore, grade boundaries will change accordingly, so that a fair comparison can be made. This is the basis for the uniform marking system (UMS) (see more here). Essentially, if a paper has a lot of challenging questions and a lot of candidates struggle, the grade boundaries will be lower; and vice versa.

Why isn't there an A* boundary?
Candidates cannot officially attain an A* grade in an A-Level module. An A* is only awarded for an entire A-Level if the candidate has achieved 80% overall and 90% average on A2 modules.

But is there a 90% boundary?
There is no official boundary. But you (or, if you ask nicely, someone else) can calculate it from the data.
In the majority of cases, the 90% boundary is the A (80%) boundary + the difference between the the A (80%) and B (70%) boundaries. Accordingly, the 100% boundary is typically the A (80%) boundary + the difference between the A (80%) and the C (60%) boundaries.

Example; An English paper is marked out of 100. An A is 75/100, a B is 65/100 and a C is 55/100. In this case, 90% is 75 + (75-65) = 85/100. And 100% is 75 + (75-55) = 95/100.

Why is that only in the majority of cases?
In some cases, most typically maths modules, the above system does not work. If the calculated 100% boundary (as shown above) is a mark that is greater than the maximum possible raw mark, then the %s are scaled linearly from the A Boundary to the 100% boundary.

Example; a Maths exam is marked out of 75. An A is 67/75, a B is 62/75 and a C is 57/75. Notice here that an A (67) + the difference of A to C (67-57 =10) is 77. But the maximum possible mark is 75. So the normal scaling does not work.
Instead, 100% becomes 75/75 (full marks). And 90% becomes halfway between the A and full marks (71/75).

I am just below a grade boundary - what should I do?
Firstly, note that your grades in individual modules are not that important. What is most important is your overall grade in an A-Level. You can get an A overall in a subject even if a few of your modules are Bs or even Cs - so concentrate on the hollistic grade.
If you are desperate for a better grade, or feel that your grade is unexpectedly low then you may want to contact your teacher for a remark. See the thread Didn't do as well as you'd hoped? Advice here! for further advice.

What eng did you do, lit and lang?

Does anyone have the AQA UMS converter updated for June 2013?

It's on the aqa website. You can search for it in the search box on the aqa website.