UMS guidance

Subjects A-Z

12 August 2013

Read more for guidance for teachers on UMS marks and how to convert them to raw marks.

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Do you need help understanding UMS marks?

From results day you'll be able to download our mark converter tool to convert UMS marks to raw marks and vice versa.

We anticipate that the mark converter tool will be useful to teachers and students in the following ways:

to convert UMS marks to raw marks on results day
to convert teacher-awarded raw marks to UMS marks when teachers are marking mock exams using past papers
to convert self-awarded raw marks to UMS marks when students are revising for future exams using past papers.

Download our UMS mark converter tool.

What are UMS marks and why do we use them?

Grade boundaries are set using raw marks (the actual paper marks).

Raw mark boundaries change from series to series since exam papers can perform differently from year to year, depending on the tasks set. We're also required to review coursework and controlled assessment grade boundaries in each series to ensure standards are maintained.

Even though raw mark boundaries can vary, we have to ensure that the standard required to gain a particular unit score is the same from exam series to exam series.

The uniform mark scale is therefore used to convert students' raw marks to uniform marks. This is done to standardise the marks between different units and from year to year.

So, even though the raw mark boundaries may change, the uniform mark for each grade boundary remains the same for all examinations.

Summer 2013 grade boundaries will be made available from results day.

How do UMS marks contribute to the overall GCSE or A level grade?

After a student has been awarded a result, their uniform mark will be recorded in our system until their teacher requests the overall grade to be calculated and certified (cash-in).

You can find tables showing the minimum uniform marks required for each grade at unit level and at qualification level below.

GCSE History

The minimum uniform marks required for each grade for each unit are as follows:

Units 1 to 4
Unit grade	A*	A	B	C
Maximum uniform mark = 100	90	80	70	60

Units 1 to 4
Unit grade	D	E	F	G
Maximum uniform mark = 100	50	40	30	20

The minimum uniform marks required for the full GCSE qualification are as follows:

Qualification grade	A*	A	B	C
Maximum uniform mark = 100	360	320	280	240

Qualification grade	D	E	F	G
Maximum uniform mark = 100	200	160	120	80

A level History

The minimum uniform marks required for each grade for each unit are as follows:

AS Units 1 and 2
Unit grade	A	B	C	D	E
Maximum uniform mark = 100	80	70	60	50	40

A2 Unit 3
Unit grade	A	B	C	D	E
Maximum uniform mark = 120	96	84	72	60	48

A2 Unit 4
Unit grade	A	B	C	D	E
Maximum uniform mark = 80	64	56	48	40	32

The minimum uniform marks for each grade at AS cash-in are as follows:

Qualification grade	A	B	C	D	E
Maximum uniform mark = 200	160	140	120	100	80

The minimum uniform marks for each grade at Advanced GCE cash-in are as follows:

Qualification grade	A	B	C	D	E
Maximum uniform mark = 400	320	280	240	200	160

Do you need further guidance on UMS marks?

Download detailed subject-specific UMS mark guidance for GCSE History

Download detailed subject-specific UMS mark guidance for A level History.

I hope you found this update useful. If you have any further queries about UMS marks please contact me.

Regards,

Mark

Mark BattyeHistory

+44 (0) 344 463 2535 (Teaching Services team | Mon - Fri, 9am - 5pm GMT)

teachinghistory@pearson.com

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