Is grade 9 the new a*

I think the new system demoralises kids so much. Having an A at GCSE was excellent. Now it can be a 7 and kids feel deflated. Also not great when a 4/5 is a C (ie pass) but most kids think it's low because there are so many grades above it.

Iamnotthe1
I agree with you. The specifications are so different now, at least in my subjects.

The fact that the spread of students within the two old grades is now spread out over 3 new grades means it's not possible to give set equivalents. It just means that the distribution of higher attaining pupils is split into 3 buckets instead of 2.

Very true. The last sentence of this is particularly important. My DC did GCSEs last year, I did O levels. Back in the 1980s an A was as high as you could achieve, and a C was perfectly acceptable. My child got from 4s to 7s, ie Cs to As. All passes, all amazing. But in today's insane world an A still isn't seen as good enough.

Whilst these conversions are useful in helping people who grew up with the old system understand the new system, making direct comparisons is misleading.

The grade boundaries are set in response to how that cohort actually perform and are relative rather than absolute. That means that what qualified a student for an 8 one year might have been enough for a 9 the year before but would only get them a 7 the next year. Therefore saying, for example, an 8 is an old A* isn't accurate as what was needed for those grades varies significantly, especially with changes to assessment and the curriculum.

Completely. My daughter looks at a 6 and thinks it's so low because there are 3 grades above it. I don't think that happened the old way as the 'stars' were more like an extra not the main grade.

More students won't be getting 9s in the real exams as it is awarded to the top X% of students and the boundaries change each year.

Look at UCAS for specific uni entry requirements and your local colleges for what they require for A levels.

7-9 are all fantastic grades particularly if shes getting that in year 10 she'd be expected to increase a grade or two by the end of year 11. However, this is the problem with the new system the 5 and 6 seem quite bottom rung when a C or B was fine years ago, in fact you'd be pretty happy with a B.

7 A
8 A*
9 A **

Wrong. It’s an A in old money, 8 roughly an A and 9 the equivalent of an A*

They've divided the two grades (A and A star) into 3 (7, 8, 9).

Roughly speaking a 7 is the bottom-middle of an old A, an 8 is the top of an old A and the bottom of an old A star, and a 9 is the top section of the old A star and is given to a small % of entries.

The same happened with the move from grades C and B to 4,5,6.

Although they're evidence of achievement, GCSE grades are secondary to A level predictions for UCAS offers.

It definitely puts pressure on the kids. My son will feel he's failed if he doesn't get all 9s (this has not come from us, it's just he has an academic peer group at school).

9 is a A**
8 is an A*

Hmmm. 7 is more b than a although still good imo.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-48993830

9 is higher than A* and 7 lines up with the old A. You’d have to check what grades she needs to move onto the course she needs to become a vet but I can’t see why those grades wouldn’t be high enough.