The Student Room Group

GCSE grade boundaries

So somebody told me (not a teacher) that if took any people get a question/s wrong on any particular GCSE exam, the exam board will lower the grade boundaries for that entire year. So like if the previous grade boundary was 70% for an A it could change to like 65% for an A If too many people find the question paper hard. A bit of a long winded message but basically the bottom line is ‘does the exam board actually lower/raise the grade boundaries after the results?’ Thanks
Original post by based_J
So somebody told me (not a teacher) that if took any people get a question/s wrong on any particular GCSE exam, the exam board will lower the grade boundaries for that entire year. So like if the previous grade boundary was 70% for an A it could change to like 65% for an A If too many people find the question paper hard. A bit of a long winded message but basically the bottom line is ‘does the exam board actually lower/raise the grade boundaries after the results?’ Thanks

Yes, they decide the grade boundaries after everyone's taken the GCSE exams and fit the boundaries in each cohort.

Reply 2

Original post by based_J
So somebody told me (not a teacher) that if took any people get a question/s wrong on any particular GCSE exam, the exam board will lower the grade boundaries for that entire year. So like if the previous grade boundary was 70% for an A it could change to like 65% for an A If too many people find the question paper hard. A bit of a long winded message but basically the bottom line is ‘does the exam board actually lower/raise the grade boundaries after the results?’ Thanks

yes, they base the grade boundaries on the average results after they have been completed - for example the 2022 paper may be easier than the 2023 as on average there were higher results, so the grade boundaries for the 2022 paper would be higher than the 2023 boundaries

Reply 3

Yes

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