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How do GCSE and A-level grade boundaries work?
Grade boundaries vary each year, but why? And how are they decided upon? Check out our guide to the method behind the numbers
When a student is assessed for a qualification they will take multiple exam papers. Those exam papers may have differing maximum marks. The “grade boundaries” refer to the number of marks required to achieve each grade.
For example, AQA’s English literature GCSE is made up of two papers. Paper one is worth 64 marks and paper two is worth 96 marks, meaning that the maximum number of achievable marks is 160. In 2019, the grade boundaries for this paper were set as follows:
Why do grade boundaries change each year?
Although exam boards endeavour to set exam papers at the same level of difficulty each year, there will naturally be small variations in the level of challenge on the papers.
As a result, grade boundaries change each year to reflect the difficulty of the paper. This ensures that the standards are maintained from one year to the next and avoids grade inflation.
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Who decides the grade boundaries?
The decision-making process for grade boundaries is called “awarding”, and it is undertaken by a group of senior examiners from every exam board who are experts in their subject. This is overseen by Ofqual. The awarding process aims to ensure grades are reliable.
During awarding, the examiners compare scripts from the current exam series with previous years. This is done to ensure that work is of a comparable standard - eg, that work graded as a 4 in 2018 is of a similar standard to a grade 4 in 2017 - and provides consistency over time.
Owing to the potential for exam papers to be more or less challenging each year, examiner reports are also taken into consideration. For example, if a question was worded in such a way that confused a significant number of students, it might be appropriate to lower the grade boundary to account for that.
How are the maths grade boundaries set?
Unlike essay-based subjects where students are asked one question and a levelled mark scheme is used to mark them, subjects such as maths and science pose a different challenge.
There are some key similarities. Each year, grade boundaries are set without consideration of previous years - placement of the grade boundaries varies depending on the difficulty of the paper.
The difference is that the questions in non-essay-based subjects are written with specific grades in mind.
Non-essay-based papers are written with questions that are targeted at particular grades. This serves two purposes: firstly, it ensures that there is a balance of difficulty across the paper and secondly, it means that exam boards can be sure each year the paper is of a similar level of difficulty.
Once marking is complete, exam boards can see how students have performed on these questions. For example, they will check to see if the majority of students have correctly answered the questions targeted at the lowest grade.
Using the data from the question performance, exam boards can build a statistical picture of where the grade boundary could be.
However, the decision of where the grade boundary goes requires a balance of qualitative and quantitative evidence. As well as this, the principal examiner will also put forward their suggestion of where the grade boundary should go, based on their own experience of marking the paper.
The final decision is made during the awarding process, when both the statistical picture and the principal examiner’s suggested boundaries are considered.
What data is used when deciding grade boundaries?
Alongside the scripts and examiner reports, student data is also used to inform grade boundaries.
For GCSE, this data includes the National Reference Tests that are conducted in March by the National Foundation for Education Research (NFER). These tests provide data on ability in English and maths for a sample of students and give an indication of the ability of the cohort.
In addition to this, other test data will be used - for example, when deciding GCSE grade boundaries, key stage 2 test data will be considered. For A-level boundaries, the GCSE data will be considered.
Is there a ‘quota’ of grades?
There is no quota of grades for A level or GCSE.
Similar numbers of grades are achieved each year because of the checks put in place to ensure the difficulty of the exam remains the same, and the marking of the exam is consistent.
How do tiered papers work?
Some exams have higher and foundation tiers. For these, the grade boundaries are set in the same way as described above, but also by using what Ofqual calls “common questions”, which are the same on both higher and foundation papers.
These allow those setting the grade boundaries to align standards between the tiers, because they can see how all students respond to the common questions, regardless of which tier they have sat.
This means that a student who achieves a grade 4 on a foundation tier GCSE would also achieve a grade 4 on the higher tier. There is more information on how that works on Ofqual’s website.
How is the GCSE grade 9 boundary decided?
Grade 9 is one of the most commonly misunderstood grades at GCSE, with some believing that it is the equivalent of the A*.
Grade 9 was created when GCSEs switched from letters to numbers in 2017, as an answer to the criticism that the A* was becoming too common.
In the first year of the new GCSE examinations, grade 9 was set arithmetically, using the equation: percentage of those achieving at least a grade 7 who will be awarded a grade 9 = 7% + 0.5 × (percentage of students awarded grade 7 and above).
Since 2018, the grade 9 standard has been carried forward as it has for other grades, using an approach based on a mixture of statistics and examiner judgement.
Covid-19 and grade boundaries
Exams were cancelled in 2020 and 2021 owing to disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Because of this, there were exceptional arrangements in place and students were awarded calculated grades in GCSEs, AS and A levels, the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) and the Advanced Extension Award (AEA) in maths.
Information about how grades were awarded using teacher-assessed grades (TAGs) and centre-assessed grades (CAGs) is available on Ofqual’s website.
Grade boundaries in 2022 and 2023
In 2022, grades were awarded using boundaries to ensure the pass rate sat at a midway point between the distributions seen in 2021 and those in 2019, the last time when public exams were sat.
Ofqual said this reflected that 2022 was a “transition” year during which students still suffered disruption as a result of Covid-19.
This year, 2023 is the second and final step “down” to 2019 standards. Again, grade boundaries will be slightly more generous to ensure grades are as similar as possible to distributions in 2019.
Speaking to Tes earlier this year, Dr Jo Saxton, Ofqual’s chief regulator, said: “Ofqual is asking the exam boards...to take into consideration the disruption students have suffered and to bear in mind what outcomes looked like in 2019, so that even if the quality of student work is slightly weaker at a national level within a subject, results are as similar as possible to those of 2019.”
As in every other year, exam boards will be using a range of data, and examiners and subject experts will be looking at a range of work. The difference is that, this year, there isn’t an expectation for students to meet the same performance standard as in previous years. Instead, they are lowering the bar a little in terms of how well students have to do in their exams.
Exam board grade boundaries 2023
You can find the latest grade boundaries at these exam-board websites:
Appealing a grade
If a student or teacher believes there has been a mistake in the marking or administration process, the person in question can appeal against the grade. Following the release of results, there is a time window during which an appeal can be raised.