GCSE A*- G vs. 9 - 1 system

[ahap]

He will be sitting his GCSEs in 2017 and will be doing the Edexcel for some subjects including Maths and English which I think is the IGCSEs, but the grading system we were told would be 9-1 for Maths and English.

Being Edexcel doesn't make them iGCSEs - they might be but they might also be normal GCSEs.
Just English and Maths are moving to the 9-1 system for current yr 10 taking at the normal time. For current yr9s the vast majority will be 9-1 system but, as Tinkers said, there are a few like product design which have not got accreditation under the new system yet and so will still be A* to G for at least a further year. By current yr8's exam time they should all be 9-1.

iGCSEs are just a further confusion as they are under a different system and timescale for migration (if at all) - plus they don't contribute to league tables etc so tend to be mostly used by Indies not state schools.

Thanks, it is quite confusing to me. I thought Edexcel meant iGCSEs but may be not in DS's case. Perhaps it is the GCSEs. Under science though they have mentioned Edexcel and mentioned Edexcel certificate, so that must be iGCSEs. I have to further look into it, I might think I am helping him and being a supportive parent by downloading the wrong set of past papers for him.

[PurpleDuck]

DS is doing Edexel IGCSEs, otherwise known as Edexel Certificate. Edexel also do 'standard' GCSEs.

[ahap]

Thanks PD.

[Catseye]

I'm having a punt here, but my guess is a grade 9 with equate to about 95 UMS of the present GCSE capturing about the top 4% capped year on year, so for the top grade 9 there will be no grade inflation.

It's grade inflation since the introduction of GCSEs that has got us to this farce.

Improvement or otherwise of teaching-pupils attainment will be judged by the other 8-1 grades where inflation/deflation of grades will be allowed but grade 9 percentage passes will remain the same year on year.

Please do not quote me my conjecture.

[PurpleDuck]

I've just had a confirmation from DS's English teacher that they will be using the A* - G grading in summer 2017 for IGSCE exams, so it looks like with his IGCSEs all of his exam results will be using the A* - G system. I believe the 'standard' GCSEs English exams will use the numerical bands from 2017.

[Guest55]

I'm having a punt here, but my guess is a grade 9 with equate to about 95 UMS of the present GCSE capturing about the top 4% capped year on year, so for the top grade 9 there will be no grade inflation.

It's grade inflation since the introduction of GCSEs that has got us to this farce.

Improvement or otherwise of teaching-pupils attainment will be judged by the other 8-1 grades where inflation/deflation of grades will be allowed but grade 9 percentage passes will remain the same year on year.

Please do not quote me my conjecture.

It's already stated that the proportion of 9s will be capped - your guess at the UMS is probably too high - look at raw marks to see.

Grade inflation is an invention of the press - the grade description of grades A, C and F are criteria referenced and don't change. Teaching has just got better over the years and students tend to work harder as they know unis look at GCSE grades.

[pleased as punch]

I'm having a punt here, but my guess is a grade 9 with equate to about 95 UMS of the present GCSE capturing about the top 4% capped year on year, so for the top grade 9 there will be no grade inflation.

It's grade inflation since the introduction of GCSEs that has got us to this farce.

Improvement or otherwise of teaching-pupils attainment will be judged by the other 8-1 grades where inflation/deflation of grades will be allowed but grade 9 percentage passes will remain the same year on year.

Please do not quote me my conjecture.

Perhaps I'm missing something ( government u-turn maybe?) but they did state:

As announced by Ofqual in September 2014, the new system replaces the
A* to U system with a new 9 to 1 scale (with 9 being the top grade). It will
apply to all reformed GCSEs when they are introduced from September 2015
onwards.
The new approach will mean:
 broadly the same proportion of students will achieve a grade 4 and
above as currently achieve a grade C and above
 broadly the same proportion of students will achieve a grade 7 and
above as currently achieve an A and above
 for each examination, the top 20 per cent of those who achieve grade 7
or above will get a grade 9 – the very highest performers
 the bottom of grade 1 will be aligned with the bottom of grade G
 grade 5 will be positioned in the top third of the marks for a current
grade C and bottom third of the marks for a current Grade B. This will
mean it will be of greater demand than the present grade C, and
broadly in line with what the best available evidence tells us is the
average PISA performance in countries such as Finland, Canada, the
Netherlands and Switzerland.

http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/per ... _Guide.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

So the top 20% achieving a Grade 7 or above automatically will be given a Grade 9 it says - unless anyone reads it differently.

[Martin_Procter]

Pleased as Punch is right.

In the old grades, 15% got A or A*. One third of this 15% (i.e. 5% of total) got an A*

In the new grades, 15% will get 7, 8 or 9 (this will be true for the first year, June 2017 at least). One fifth of this 15% (i.e. 3% of total) will get the top grade 9.

[Guest55]

It's not as simple as that ... we've been told 9s will be capped, A*s are not the % varies each year.

As said grade A, C and F are criteria referenced ... % varies with the cohort.

[PurpleDuck]

I've found an article with some diagrams showing a comparison between the old and new grading system. The relationships between the grades looks a bit different for different subjects (and I am not even trying to figure out why ) It is dated 2014 so I'm not sure whether it is still current - does anyone know?

http://www.schoolzone.co.uk/schools/blo ... firmed.asp