Take our quiz to find out what your revision personality is! >>

Getting an A* in reformed A-levels?

Hello

So this is something that has been bugging me for a while and I'm not sure if I've missed something here but...

With the new terminal A-levels that we will sit in 2017 (that count 100% to our final grade, not 50/50 with AS grades), how will the A* grade be awarded? I'm aware that the current system requires you to get 80% overall across both years and then 90% in the A2 modules. However, since AS grades no longer contribute to our final grade, will it be necessary to get 90% overall to get an A* now?

I know this isn't true for all subjects, as only some have been reformed, so won't this penalise some students when applying for university? For example, I imagine that it will be harder to get a high grade in subjects that have been reformed, and so students taking more non-reformed subjects are likely to get higher grades? I know that the grades you achieve are based purely on the work you put in, but we cannot deny that students taking subjects like maths and politcs will be at an advantage slightly when meeting their offers (especially with degrees that don't specify subject requirements).

Of course, this is just me being paranoid and stressing about my options - especially as a lot of universities haven't discussed the A level reforms in a lot of detail. However, my question still stands: how can I get an A* in a subject that relies 100% on my results from my final year?

Thanks in advance

Reply 1

the_queen

That's my question too....

More than this, there are students taking IAL, same syllabus, but modular, with January and June exams, and AS counts towards A level. It means less stress for exams...And uni's requirements are the same for both... so advantage for them... Maybe I am wrong (for sure I am not paranoid), but I feel as we were put behind...

Reply 2

the_queen

and what about UCAS points if some students can use AS (those with IAL) and other students not??

Reply 3

h8skoooooool

Original post by the_queen

and what about UCAS points if some students can use AS (those with IAL) and other students not??

Ah yeah I didn't think about the ucas points, I forgot that some offers are based on these :/ some students will be disadvantaged if their school cannot afford to sit them for AS exams

Reply 4

h8skoooooool

Bump also: still unsure about how A* will be graded in new A levels?

Reply 5

the_queen

Original post by h8skoooooool

Ah yeah I didn't think about the ucas points, I forgot that some offers are based on these :/ some students will be disadvantaged if their school cannot afford to sit them for AS exams

even if the school affords to sit for AS exams, as long as the AS do not count for A level, they will not have UCAS ponis. But there are schools ofering IAL, where AS still count towards A level, then that students will have AS and A level points. Something is fishy here....

Reply 6

h8skoooooool

Original post by the_queen

Yup definitely thinking that the government hasn't worked this out properly... :s-smilie:

Reply 7

Munrot07

I can't actually find it online but the only real logical answer would be 90% across your whole A level. The current system was chosen as A2 was significantly harder than AS and they wanted that to be reflected in the A*. However, since the whole course is examined at the end of 2 years the difficulty of the first year compared to the second has no significance.

Don't take me word as gospel but it's the most logical answer :smile:

Reply 8

gdunne42

Original post by the_queen

Although reformed AS results don't contribute to your final A level grade, they still earn UCAS points. Depending on the details of your offer, you can count the UCAS points for an AS that you don't take to full A level. If you take AS and then complete the full A level only the points for the full A level count. This is true for existing U.K. A levels, international A levels and reformed A levels.

I have not seen a statement on exactly how grade boundaries will be calculated for reformed A levels but they will not use a fixed target of 90% raw marks. The boundaries will be worked out after each exam season and will almost certainly be set at levels that deliver broadly similar numbers of each grade as were awarded previously.

Posted from TSR Mobile

(edited 8 years ago)