GCSE and A level awarding in 2018
We, like schools and colleges, are already looking ahead to this summer’s exams. This year there are more new AS and A level subjects and 9 to 1 GCSEs being awarded for the first time.
A levels and GCSEs
November 2017 exams and summer series 2018
...November. November 2017 For many years there has been a November series which provides an opportunity for students to re-sit English and maths GCSEs. It’s mainly for those students that...
GCSE maths grade boundaries
Much has been written about the ‘low’ grade boundaries in GCSE maths and how they are lower than previous years. This has been interpreted as Ofqual lowering the boundaries in the first year of a new qualification. Unfortunately, it’s really not that simple. The new maths GCSEs were designed to be different from the old …
Why 9 to 1?
The new GCSE grade scale has been the subject of much debate in recent months. Why did we change it? That’s the question we’re being asked a lot this summer, as we await the first of the new grades. To …
Our Journey – Changes to GCSEs, AS and A levels
This month we’ll see the first awards of the new GCSEs and A levels in England. Pupils are looking forward to receiving their results after two years of study. Our own preparation can be traced back several more years. Since …
2017 entry data: things to look out for
...August when comparing overall results in 2016 and 2017. Here are some of the key changes, and what they might mean for results headlines in August. GCSE English language (9...
Monitoring the 2017 exams
As in previous years, we expect to see students letting off steam on social media...Some of these will be reported in the media, but that doesn’t necessarily mean there’s a problem...
Prediction matrices explained
We have said that exam boards will rely more heavily on predictions this year for the new qualifications. But how are the predictions generated? And what do we mean by prediction matrices?
Setting grade 9 in new GCSEs
Grade 9 is not the same as A*; it’s a new grade, designed to recognise the very highest performing students. So there will be fewer grade 9s than there are currently A*s. And in the first year grade 9 will be calculated arithmetically.
Setting A* in the new A levels
You may be familiar with the rules for setting A* in the current A levels: students must get enough UMS marks to achieve a grade A overall and achieve 90% or more of the UMS marks at A2. This rule …
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