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IGCSE Grade Boundaries
- Thread starter tempz
- Start date
I can also confirm that if you go to this link it tells you how many people in % terms were awarded each grade A*, A etc.
http://www.cie.org.uk/docs/qualificatio ... 0IGCSE.pdf
It shows that around ~ 30% were awarded an A* in French Foreign Language, ~20% in English Language and ~20% in Literature in English, over 50% were awarded an A* in Spanish Second Language so the fact that these values vary so much makes me presume that the A* boundary was indeed fixed at 90% and not deducesd using a curve of the top 10-20% as it is normally done.
http://www.cie.org.uk/docs/qualificatio ... 0IGCSE.pdf
It shows that around ~ 30% were awarded an A* in French Foreign Language, ~20% in English Language and ~20% in Literature in English, over 50% were awarded an A* in Spanish Second Language so the fact that these values vary so much makes me presume that the A* boundary was indeed fixed at 90% and not deducesd using a curve of the top 10-20% as it is normally done.
CIE were very unhelpful in saying the following:
'This varies from year to year in the light of the difficulty of the papers. The most recent grade thresholds are published on the Teacher Support website, which is only available to teachers at your school, although these will not be indicative of the grade thresholds for any future examination sessions.
You will need to speak to your examinations officer for more information regarding this.'
'This varies from year to year in the light of the difficulty of the papers. The most recent grade thresholds are published on the Teacher Support website, which is only available to teachers at your school, although these will not be indicative of the grade thresholds for any future examination sessions.
You will need to speak to your examinations officer for more information regarding this.'
After some searching I have finally discovered what this whole %UM saga is about.
Your %UM is not the raw marks or percentage mark that you scored, it is a way for CIE to assess the difficulty of each component and compare them on the same marking scale.
For example in Component 1 of an exam you may have scored 86% because that exam was slightly easier than normal.
However in Component 3 you may have only scored 74% because the exam was harder than expected.
In order for CIE to compare the relative difficulty of papers without compromising your marks from now onwards they will use the %UM system whereby your mark in each component will be converted to a %UM. For example in the easy component 1 84% could be equal to a %UM of 90% (The minimum for A*).
However because Component 3 was HARDER you would only need say 74% for a 90%UM (A* again). CIE then add your %UM to give you an overall grade, the %UM's for grades have been listed below by me:
A* = 90%UM
A = 80%UM
B = 70%UM
C = 60%UM
etc.
I hope this clarifies things once and for all.
Your %UM is not the raw marks or percentage mark that you scored, it is a way for CIE to assess the difficulty of each component and compare them on the same marking scale.
For example in Component 1 of an exam you may have scored 86% because that exam was slightly easier than normal.
However in Component 3 you may have only scored 74% because the exam was harder than expected.
In order for CIE to compare the relative difficulty of papers without compromising your marks from now onwards they will use the %UM system whereby your mark in each component will be converted to a %UM. For example in the easy component 1 84% could be equal to a %UM of 90% (The minimum for A*).
However because Component 3 was HARDER you would only need say 74% for a 90%UM (A* again). CIE then add your %UM to give you an overall grade, the %UM's for grades have been listed below by me:
A* = 90%UM
A = 80%UM
B = 70%UM
C = 60%UM
etc.
I hope this clarifies things once and for all.