GCSE science grade confusion

[Riseabove]

My son received a 3.5 for his science - what does this mean? Has he passed or not?

3-5 is not a valid combined science grade. The numbers are never more than 1 apart.

Has he done 2 separate sciences or combined science (double award/ trilogy?).

4-4 is a pass.

He did the double award

Ah. Sorry! 4-3

I agree, that 3.5 is impossible.

Either a 33, 43, 44, 54 etc

Have you got a picture of the result? What board did he do?

So that means he has 2 grades and 1 is a pass. In letter grades that is equivalent to CD

So a grade 4 and a grade 3. It's worth 2 GCSEs. So not quite enough for a 4-4 but better than a 3-3.

It’s 4-3, represented as 3.5 points. You don’t get a 4 in one paper and 3 in the other - rather they mark both papers and give a double set of grades. To avoid there being a big drop from 4-4 to 3-3 if you don’t score 4 on average, they have 4-3 as well (and 5-4, 6-5 etc)

So he’s not passed overall?

For Level 3 courses, they should count the grade 4 as one level 2 pass, and the grade 3 as a level one pass.

Has he applied for a course/apprenticeship which has asked him to "pass science"? If so, I'd contact them directly.

Yes he's passed, but it's a level 1 (old grades D and below) pass not a level 2 (old grades C and above) pass.

This might help.
They get 2 marks for the papers and then they average them (I believe). So he got a 4 and a 3 which comes out as a 3.5. Using this chart 3.5 is a D grade in old terms.

I've been HoD of science for years and never heard it referred to as 3.5 before. I guess it makes sense but seems a bit unfair and takes away the fact he is graded a 4! If the exam board wanted to lump the grades together as 1, they would refer to them as 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5 etc.

OP, I would ask his sixth form/college if they will accept the 4-3. I'm sure most would depending on the course he is applying for (not A Levels) if they wanted a grade 4.

Do you know how far off a 4-4 he is? I have a couple of students within 2 marks if that boundary for example.