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PGCE grading

Hi, I just have a few general questions about PGCE grading.

Am I right in saying it is pretty much pass or fail? Are there grades? For example, what would you put on a cv?

I was just reading my PGCE handbook and it says the pass mark for assignments is 50%. If, for example, I got 70 on my assignments, does this count towards anything, or is there no incentive to get higher marks?
PGCE is just pass or fail. And you need 50 % to pass. So no, working your butt off to get good grades in assignments won't serve you any better. Trust me, they'll be the last thing on your mind :wink:

You do get a final grading, (outstanding/ good with outstanding/ good) but this isn't something I'd put on my CV because it's a bit wishy washy. (Don't know what others do though tbh. As far as I'm aware, the fact you have a PGCE/ QTS is most important.) It's more for moving forward into your NQT placements and is followed by a list of targets/ areas you would like to work on.
What about the essays that compose the masters credits, are they graded in any way?
Reply 3
Original post by rachel.h
PGCE is just pass or fail. And you need 50 % to pass. So no, working your butt off to get good grades in assignments won't serve you any better. Trust me, they'll be the last thing on your mind :wink:

You do get a final grading, (outstanding/ good with outstanding/ good) but this isn't something I'd put on my CV because it's a bit wishy washy. (Don't know what others do though tbh. As far as I'm aware, the fact you have a PGCE/ QTS is most important.) It's more for moving forward into your NQT placements and is followed by a list of targets/ areas you would like to work on.


Thanks for the clarification :smile:

I don't know if you've had interviews or what position you're in, but if you have, have your interviewers ever asked what grade you got?
Original post by Airfairy
Thanks for the clarification :smile:

I don't know if you've had interviews or what position you're in, but if you have, have your interviewers ever asked what grade you got?


I have indeed. New job starts soon :eek: I'll PM you about it :smile:
Original post by Subat
What about the essays that compose the masters credits, are they graded in any way?


My assignments were graded. We had 3 to do. A level 6 essay graded 6.1 (highest) down to about 6.4 then fail. The other two were longer level 7 (masters) assignments. These were graded 7.1 down to fail, and if you failed it at level 7 they regraded it as a level 6.

No one at work knows that I did well in them, but I do and that's what it was about for me. I got a 2:1 for my undergrad but always felt I could have done better due to not trying as hard as I should have in year 2, and my A levels weren't what they should have been due to a blip in year 13, so I wanted to prove to myself that I could write at masters level and do it WELL.

My placements were both graded as per ofsted and it was good in job applications to be able to say 'i was graded good with outstanding features in my first placement and outstanding overall in my final placement' etc.

That said, I got my job based on an outstanding interview lesson, a very good and detailed reference and a solid interview. They never even saw my placement reports.
Original post by Airfairy
Hi, I just have a few general questions about PGCE grading.

Am I right in saying it is pretty much pass or fail? Are there grades? For example, what would you put on a cv?

I was just reading my PGCE handbook and it says the pass mark for assignments is 50%. If, for example, I got 70 on my assignments, does this count towards anything, or is there no incentive to get higher marks?


Overall it's pretty much pass or fail. You are given a judgement on your teaching as others have said and my masters assignments were given an average and overall grade too (distinction, merit, pass).
The final PGCE result is just a pass or fail. However, the written assignments and your teaching practice may be graded.

Our written assignments were Pass/Merit/Distinction. This only really matters if you use your MA credits towards doing a Masters in Education. Obviously at that point, having higher grades would help you achieve a higher result in your Masters as they count towards it.

Our teaching practice was graded at the end of each placement in a report by our mentors. The Teachers' Standards were broken into 1) Preamble, 2) Teaching, 3) Professional Conduct and we could be graded Exceptional/High/Qualified/Potential/Low. This doesn't go on your certificate, no-one needs to know about it, but you had to get a minimum of Q in all areas by the end of the 2nd placement to pass the course.

Of course, if you do well in anything, you can mention it in your personal statement when applying for jobs (ie: "I am currently completing my PGCE at X University with all aspects of my teaching practice graded Exceptional or High to date.") If you are just scraping through with Pass/Q then you don't need to mention it - you'll still have a PGCE and be a qualified teacher.
Reply 8
50% pass
65% merit
80% distinction

That was the case during my PGCE.
Reply 9
At the IOE, for History, and likely for other subjects though I don't have personal experience of them, it went like this:

Teaching practice: ungraded, pass/fail. Formative comments on practice in Assessment Record File, but not graded.
Two M-Level assignments: graded A-D. A-C gets you Masters credits, D gets you nothing.
Overall: pass/fail based on teaching practice and submission of M-Level assignments.
Recommendation for Qualified Teacher Status: yes/no based on teaching practice.

If your M-Level assignments average out at less than a C, you do not get a Post-Graduate Certificate in Education, but rather a Professional Graduate Certificate in Education.

Whatever you get, Post- or Professional, you still qualify as a teacher. On an application, put the word "Pass" in the grade box. Typically schools don't ask for CVs, rather they have a standardised application form with a personal statement. If there are any amazing bits of your practice or your academic work that relate to the job, the personal statement is the place to mention them.

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