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How did I get a B? (AQA. A level)

TL;DR:
I don't understand how, if I was well into an A (13 marks in) on one exam, and on the other, one mark short of an A, how could I end up with a B? (AQA Polish 2015/2016)

LONG VERSION:
I did an A level in Polish in year 9. I got an A in my AS with a Mark Equiv of 86. I then sat my A level exam 1 year after and got a B overall. For my (second exam) A level exam, I got the Mark Equiv of 71 which was a B. I came out with a B overall.

I recently looked at the grade boundaries for that year; in 2015, to get an A in AS, you needed 73 marks. I got 86.
In 2016 to get an A in the second exam, you needed 72 marks; I got 71.

My Mark Equivalent for the entire course was 157.

I don't understand how, if I was well into an A (13 marks in) on one exam, and one mark short of an A in the second, how could I end up with a B?

LINKS:
http://filestore.aqa.org.uk/over/stat_pdf/AQA-A-LEVEL-GDE-BDY-JUNE-2015.PDF
http://filestore.aqa.org.uk/over/stat_pdf/AQA-A-LEVEL-GDE-BDY-JUNE-2016.PDF
Hmm.. could be that one exam is weighted heavier than the other?
I would ring up your head of year or examinations officer to see if they can find out exactly why this has happened.

Good luck, I hope it’s just an error and you get your A!
Original post by Vivi2018
Hmm.. could be that one exam is weighted heavier than the other?
I would ring up your head of year or examinations officer to see if they can find out exactly why this has happened.

Good luck, I hope it’s just an error and you get your A!


i agree with vivi !
Reply 3
Original post by Vivi2018
Hmm.. could be that one exam is weighted heavier than the other?
I would ring up your head of year or examinations officer to see if they can find out exactly why this has happened.

Good luck, I hope it’s just an error and you get your A!


I'll talk to my teacher when I return go to Sixth Form. Thank you :smile:
Original post by Quachy
I'll talk to my teacher when I return go to Sixth Form. Thank you :smile:


When did you get your results?
Original post by Quachy
TL;DR:
I don't understand how, if I was well into an A (13 marks in) on one exam, and on the other, one mark short of an A, how could I end up with a B? (AQA Polish 2015/2016)

LONG VERSION:
I did an A level in Polish in year 9. I got an A in my AS with a Mark Equiv of 86. I then sat my A level exam 1 year after and got a B overall. For my (second exam) A level exam, I got the Mark Equiv of 71 which was a B. I came out with a B overall.

I recently looked at the grade boundaries for that year; in 2015, to get an A in AS, you needed 73 marks. I got 86.
In 2016 to get an A in the second exam, you needed 72 marks; I got 71.

My Mark Equivalent for the entire course was 157.

I don't understand how, if I was well into an A (13 marks in) on one exam, and one mark short of an A in the second, how could I end up with a B?

LINKS:
http://filestore.aqa.org.uk/over/stat_pdf/AQA-A-LEVEL-GDE-BDY-JUNE-2015.PDF
http://filestore.aqa.org.uk/over/stat_pdf/AQA-A-LEVEL-GDE-BDY-JUNE-2016.PDF


It seems likely that the marks you are quoting are the UMS awarded and not the actual raw marks. You need 160 ums for A
(edited 5 years ago)
You exam result will show UMS where 80 is an A, 70 a B and so on.

86 and 71 average out to less than 80 and so you've got a B.

What is the issue?
Reply 7
Original post by Vivi2018
When did you get your results?


In 2016 iirc. I didn't decide to resit during my GCSEs however, I wanted to leave College stuff for College.
Reply 8
Original post by JammieDodger27
You exam result will show UMS where 80 is an A, 70 a B and so on.

86 and 71 average out to less than 80 and so you've got a B.

What is the issue?


78.5 with 80 for an A. I understand now. A resit will hopefully push me over the line 80% 😊
Original post by Quachy
78.5 with 80 for an A. I understand now. A resit will hopefully push me over the line 80% 😊


Good luck!
Reply 10
Original post by JammieDodger27
Good luck!


Jammie, I did some more research.

To get an A in the first exam, you need 73 marks.
To get an A* in the second exam, you need 80 marks.

73 + 80 = 153.
The exams are weighed 50%-50%.
If I follow your '160+ = A Grade' rule, this means I could have an A & A* and still get a B



LINKS:
Grade Boundaries: http://filestore.aqa.org.uk/over/stat_pdf/AQA-A-LEVEL-GDE-BDY-JUNE-2015.PDF
Specification for exams from 2014: http://filestore.aqa.org.uk/subjects/specifications/alevel/AQA-2685-W-SP-14.PDF
("2 Specification at a Glance. This is page 5 of the document)
Original post by Quachy
Jammie, I did some more research.

To get an A in the first exam, you need 73 marks.
To get an A* in the second exam, you need 80 marks.

73 + 80 = 153.
The exams are weighed 50%-50%.
If I follow your '160+ = A Grade' rule, this means I could have an A & A* and still get a B



LINKS:
Grade Boundaries: http://filestore.aqa.org.uk/over/stat_pdf/AQA-A-LEVEL-GDE-BDY-JUNE-2015.PDF
Specification for exams from 2014: http://filestore.aqa.org.uk/subjects/specifications/alevel/AQA-2685-W-SP-14.PDF
("2 Specification at a Glance. This is page 5 of the document)


You're not getting it. The exam results sheet doesn't show raw marks, it shows UMS.

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