Please explain UMS points

[poppydoppy]

To a novice, Thank you

For what level - GCSE, AS or A2?

For AS and A2, the marks for each paper are given in UMS and then added up to give a total. This differs from the raw score ie 60/70 on a paper, as it is then converted by a mark scheme to the UMS applicable - which is affected by the denominator value of the paper ( eg paper 1 might be worth 60/300 UMS but paper two maybe 120/300 in weighting. Either or neither paper may be marked out of 100, or 70 or whatever)

So if you get 90% on a paper you can't know in advance how many UMS that is - it might be 100 or it might be 80 say. One thing you do know on AS and A2 papers is that if its within a certain band of UMS you've got that grade ( eg 80 +UMS equals an A). That doesn't hold at GCSE I don't think.

I'm not sure that helps. I bet by the time I've posted this someone has added a link.......

Thank you. I was inquiring about GCSE level. DS sat Science AQA in June I was wondering if his A* converted to UMS points. Also do the more academic subjects such as History carry more points than cookery for example?

As I understand it a UMS of 90% is always an A*. What the raw score is before it is weighted to produce the UMS changes from one paper to the next.

All GCSEs are deemed equivalent in terms of level and points. Whether people regard an A in cookery as being the same as an A in Maths however....

poppy I wonder if you are confusing UMS scores with UCAS points?

Either way, the answer would be the same - no subject counts for more points than another, just taking numbers into account.

GCSEs have points too beckandcall - they go onto league table data.

I am afraid to say that I don`t understand UCAS points either

I don't think they have UCAS points titchy? I was just saying UMS in one subject is no better or worse than in another for any comparison is it? - whether that's league table or UCAS points for A levels. I'm not sure what you think I meant, but I wasn't disagreeing with you!

No they're not UCAS points, GCSE points are used mainly in league tables.