AS grades and re-sits

[hermanmunster]

Trouble is that half the marks at A2 are determined by the AS score :

For example to get an A at A level in a 4 unit A level you would need to get 320 UMS (out of 400)

The A level would possibly be made of 4 100 UMS modules (well at least it would get converted to that!)

2 of these would be at AS ie counting for 200 of the UMS:

The marks / grades from the AS would be:
A=>80
B= 70
C= 60
D= 50
E = 40
U=0

So 2 AS levels at C on perhaps 65 each would give 130 out of the required 320 for an A at A2, leaving an eyewatering 190/2 = 95 to get on each of the harder A2 modules.

[daughter]

Agree again with HM and although Unis are offering on A2's you need to have the correct predictions. I think it differs from school to school and student to student but most schools won't predict A2's significantly (if at all) above the AS marks e.g if you have C in chemistry at AS the chances of getting predicted an A are poor IMHO.

[Belinda]

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[Moonlight]

For those peeking here, with it all yet to come...

Hit the ground running in Sept of Year 12! Maximise UMS marks for AS level. If your DC doesn't, all is not lost but...

They will be struggling uphill for Y13.

This is a journey that my daughter is about to begin in September of this year and I have been peeking at some of these posts to try and make sense of it all. I am particularly interested in what you and hermanmunster have said and I have to be honest and say I really don't understand any of this.

I wanted to just ask if different subjects are awarded different marks. For instance, if someone studies art would they accrue the same amount of points as, say, someone studying maths (if they were awarded the same grade)?

Sorry to 'hijack' this thread but it is all very new to me and any advice is very welcome.

[hermanmunster]

Hi Moonlight - basically everything is adjusted to the same number of UMS points (Universal marking scale).

here is AQ explanation :

http://web.aqa.org.uk/over/stat_ums.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


the whole thing IS complicated and TBH best understood by years 10-13... However you can read up on it and might be able to beat the kids!

The UMS is calculated using grade boundaries and a conversion system so it is perfectly possible ti get 100 UMS without getting everything right Also can mean that they go into the final modules knowing that they have to get say 50% to get an A or have to get 110% to get and A or bizarrely need 10% to get an A (having done so well before) but need 90 % to get an A*

[penguin]

my advice would be to repeat the year and take the time to consolidate her learning and be able to deal with her feelings of what's happening to her family. A divorce has lasting effects beyond the timeframe it occurs. two friends of mine repeated their year 12s and achieved better learning and results at the end of Year 13.

My father passed away during my fresher's week at uni and I didn't realise how much it had affected me and was still affecting me many months later.

[Guest55]

You now HAVE to declare AS grades so the Unis will notice any mismatch between predictions and AS grades.

[Moonlight]

Thank you hermanmunster for your reply. I have looked at the link and must confess that I will need to read it again (several times) I think to really understand it. It's really useful to have though, so thanks again.

One more question, if you don't mind - if DD drops a subject after the first year, will she still have accrued points to go towards the final total even though she didn't finish that particular subject?

Sorry, another question - how does studying 'hard' or 'soft' subjects affect your chances of a uni place if all values are equal? What I mean is, if all scores amount to the same whether you study maths or textiles, why is it advisable to have some 'hard' subjects if they're not going to be of a higher scoring value?

I'm not sure if what I've said makes sense. I hope so.

[Guest55]

Each University has individual offers - many ask for three specific grades at A2.

Some ask for a certain number of points and specifiy what you can count in the 'tally'.

Some universities will not count some A levels at all e.g. General Studies or they specify which A levels you must be studying to apply/


The http://www.ukcoursefinder.com website is useful.

[Moonlight]

Thank you Guest55.