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Confused! Is a grade D a pass or fail in Highers???

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Confirmation from @mysqa summer 2017:
Technically D is a pass, but it is set at below 50%, and it has been set as a level you have to achieve for some colleges for example.


some say yes its an award and a pass, some say its an award but not a pass, sqa website says it is recognition of doing the course and college say its a fail?! does anyone actually know if it is a pass/award? and if its a pass then does that mean i can tell the tutor at my interview for HNC that i have a higher? thanks x
(edited 5 years ago)

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Original post by debbiedear
some say yes its an award and a pass, some say its an award but not a pass, sqa website says it is recognition of doing the course and college say its a fail?! does anyone actually know if it is a pass/award? and if its a pass then does that mean i can tell the tutor at my interview for HNC that i have a higher? thanks x


I'm sorry to have you tell you that it's a fail but a near miss. So no, you definitely can't say that you passed a Higher if it was awarded a D.
D is not a fail. If you fail a Higher, it will be on your certificate as "No award" or something, and is usually found at the bottom of your certificate. Come on, you have to admit a D grade is awful (no disrespect). An A or B grade is really what you should aim for. A C grade is just a pass and means you scored 50-59%.
It indicates that you have passed all the units but achieved between 45-49% in the exam.

All universities/colleges are looking for at least a Grade C pass for entry.

You can check the exact status on the SQA website - a D is a band 7.
Reply 4
ok thankyou, yes it was awful :-( i got an A in my prelim so really dont know what happened! thankyou all for reply tho
Original post by debbiedear
ok thankyou, yes it was awful :-( i got an A in my prelim so really dont know what happened! thankyou all for reply tho



Oh dear, that's really disappointing, check with the school re appealing. Could you resit?
Reply 6
I have an interview for HNC Social Care next week and i hope that because im a mature student and have tons of experience that they may still consider me but its very doubtful :-(
Reply 7
Original post by Delenelie
Same happened to me... B in Prelim and D in the exam (Advanced higher biology). It was also my easiest exam, so I'm really shocked :frown: I was rejected from uni, of course...



that sucks, do u have any other options? im hoping i can still progress to HNC but in my heart i know its unlikely :-(
Reply 8
In case any one is interested i got this from SQA via email:

Grade D is an award in its own right, however whilst a recognition of your
achievement, the grade is not a pass award. Grade D is awarded where all
units of a course have been completed and where the external assessment
(exam) score is between 45 - 49 of the standardised marks.

Previously, candidates who passed the Higher at grades A-C were awarded 24
SCQF points which is equivalent to the 160 hours of the course. However,
candidates who got a Grade 'D' were awarded just 18 points. Because they
have covered the same ground as candidates passing at A-C it was felt that
they should get the same number of SCQF credit points.
Reply 9
It's a pass on its own right, it shows the student passed all course work and assessments and achieved just below a C grade, the fact that you achieved a D on a higher subject is still something to be proud of and shows your capable of getting a higher mark, plus you have the higher qualification now so of course it's a pass.
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by Lowr226
It's a pass on its own right, it shows the student passed all course work and assessments and achieved just below a C grade, the fact that you achieved a D on a higher subject is still something to be proud of and shows your capable of getting a higher mark, plus you have the higher qualification now so of course it's a pass.


See the post above you. It is not a pass and you unfortunately don't have a Higher in the subject.
Unfortunately a grade D is not a pass. A grade D is between 40-49 and that is what it's showing, that you are below a C grade.
Reply 12
Original post by debbiedear
I have an interview for HNC Social Care next week and i hope that because im a mature student and have tons of experience that they may still consider me but its very doubtful :-(


I got into HNC Social Care in 2014 without any highers. So try not to worry until you have had the interview. If you have experience in care and with service users, this will help. I had to go back and do my highers this year for entry into university.
@mysqa everyone is looking at this thread.

Can you confirm? As this is an old thread and we want to make sure it's not confusing students :smile:
Original post by She-Ra
@mysqa everyone is looking at this thread.

Can you confirm? As this is an old thread and we want to make sure it's not confusing students :smile:


Not sure why they're all here...what do you want me to confirm?
Original post by mysqa
Not sure why they're all here...what do you want me to confirm?


Students are typing it in to google and landing on this page, can confirm if a D is a pass or not please based on the original post.
Technically D is a pass, but it is set at below 50%, and it has been set as a level you have to achieve for some colleges for example.
Original post by mysqa
Technically D is a pass, but it is set at below 50%, and it has been set as a level you have to achieve for some colleges for example.


Thank you :smile:
Original post by Choo.choo
D is not a fail. If you fail a Higher, it will be on your certificate as "No award" or something, and is usually found at the bottom of your certificate. Come on, you have to admit a D grade is awful (no disrespect). An A or B grade is really what you should aim for. A C grade is just a pass and means you scored 50-59%.

ur horrible
It is not a pass, neither is it a fail. Confused? This from the Scottish government....

National 5 courses are graded A to D or ‘No Award’. Grades A-C would usually allow a learner to progress to Higher. Grade D is not a pass, but is reported on the Scottish Qualifications Certificate as a course award in its own right. Grade D indicates the candidate has achieved all the National Units for the course at that level and has achieved a band 7 in the external assessment.

(edited 5 years ago)

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