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Grading

Hi,
I'm studying Geography and we've been doing practice exams in lesson in which an A requires 80%, but then I look at last Junes grade boundaries and 69/120 (57.5%) is an A. Through quickly looking at other grade boundaries, not just geography, it's rare that 80% of the raw marks is actually required to get an A. So my question is, why do colleges and six forms use 80% as a boundary for the A? I'm confused.

Any explanation is appreciated,
Kind regards,
Ben
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Compost
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Original post by Sacred Ground
Hi,
I'm studying Geography and we've been doing practice exams in lesson in which an A requires 80%, but then I look at last Junes grade boundaries and 69/120 (57.5%) is an A. Through quickly looking at other grade boundaries, not just geography, it's rare that 80% of the raw marks is actually required to get an A. So my question is, why do colleges and six forms use 80% as a boundary for the A? I'm confused.


In UMS, 80% is required for an A for all A level papers. You're right that, with the exception of maths, the raw boundaries are generally noticeably lower. The reason schools tend to stick with 80% are:

•

it's simple

•

it's hard to determine what the raw mark boundaries are for individual questions

•

It tends to underestimate your grade so you don't become complacent.

•

Some of them don't understand the difference between raw and UMS.

Original post by Compost
In UMS, 80% is required for an A for all A level papers. You're right that, with the exception of maths, the raw boundaries are generally noticeably lower. The reason schools tend to stick with 80% are:

•

it's simple

•

it's hard to determine what the raw mark boundaries are for individual questions

•

It tends to underestimate your grade so you don't become complacent.

•

Some of them don't understand the difference between raw and UMS.




Thanks so much!

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