GCSE double science grade '43' what does this mean?!

[thatcoldfeeling]

Exactly that, can someone quickly help on this?

Double science - grade 1 '43' points (not grade) - 3.5. Does this mean less than a level 1 overall!?

[SirTobyBelch]

@wombatsears - Thanks for posting the grade boundaries. So to get 6-6 (roughly an old BB) you need 41%? To get 7-7 (AA) you need just over 50%?

Since the first results came out for reformed GCSE maths it's been apparent that we now have qualifications that just tell us students can do really hard stuff badly. There's no way of determining from their school qualifications whether they can do straightforward stuff well.

An idiot called Nick Gibb (so stupid they made him schools minister) was saying on the radio this morning that it's fine that exams are tougher because the same proportions of pupils still get each grade. This is totally missing the point of qualifications. Reformed GCSEs - and A-levels - tell us that pupils with good grades know less than half of what they were taught, so employers, HE institutions, etc. can't assume that someone with a qualification in a particular subject actually knows anything about it or is capable of studying effectively.

Increasing numbers of employers are ignoring qualifications (www.hepi.ac.uk/2019/08/14/why-employers-dont-care-about-qualifications/): still only about 20% but growing. It's not difficult to understand why.

[ineedaholidaynow]

So wombat does that mean OP's DC did not pass then? My DS is just going into Y10 so we have this to come. What do you write on your CV/application form if you need to list your qualifications?

[Corrine81]

This is my DD’s today , double science, three papers two 6’s which I believe is 2x B’s . A 43 in double science is a fail I’m afraid, a 44 is needed for a Standard pass

[gingersausage]

Surely their school will tell them?

[gingersausage]

Wow @Corrine81 that was a not-so-humble-brag!

[ChicCroissant]

Bloody hell, I thought the SATs results threads were bad with the faux what-does-this-mean but I think Corrine81 may have just topped them!

[BuggerOffAndGoodDayToYou]

My DS got 43 in combined science and his science teacher says that means he passed. Not overly fussed, he’s SEN and was expected 2s and 3s in everything.

[greathat]

First, this is a zombie thread, second if you need grade 4s (old low C) to get onto the next stage of education, then one of the 4s would count toward the total needed

[Bowsy5]

Can anyone post the percentages for the various grades?

[Ligresa]

dd got 7 7

that means she got a 7 in Science and a 7 in Additional Science

It is two gcses worth of science.

[ReTooth]

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[Ligresa]

Oh calm down! It's still totally relevant!

[SouthWestmom]

Ahhhhhh so for combined science ds got 76 and then points 6.5 - that makes sense now.

[SoupDragon]

Oh calm down! It's still totally relevant!

Of course it's not bloody relevant. I'm sure the OP's DS has sorted this now.🙄

[Ligresa]

It's relevant to all those who got results today and didn't understand the grading!

[StealthPolarBear]

BuggerOffAndGoodDayToYou excellent :)

[CraftyGin]

A 4-3 is the same as saying 2x 3.5, so just short of a pass x2.

For the purposes of working out how many 4-9s a student achieved, the 4 contributes to this.

[Ligresa]

But its a pass in one?

[CraftyGin]

No. Science is a single qualification worth 2 GCSEs. Think of 4-3 as 3.5.

[Ligresa]

So whats 7 7?

[ineedaholidaynow]

So if a job application asks for 5 GCSE passes would a 4-3 be included as 1 pass? But if a job application asks for a pass in science GCSE you wouldn't have achieved that?

Does it work in the same way for triple science?

[CraftyGin]

Triple Science has 3 unconnected grades. I don’t think you can claim a pass with 4-3 pass in combined, without trying to explain it.

[TabbyStar]

It's a bit ironic that although it's a year old people still don't seem sure whether or not the 4 counts as a pass! I was wondering how many employers understand the new GCSE grades for them to be meaningful - certainly no one without GCSE-age kids has understood when I've tried to explain DD's results.

[Allergictoironing]

@newtb

GCSE grades are weird. Back in the dark ages when I did 'O' levels, if you got over 70% you got a grade 1. 1-6 were pass grades, 7-9 and unclassified were fails.
So, now they've gone back to numbers again, why couldn't thaey have had them the same as before.

Now my grade 1 in maths, the only grade 1 I got looks crap......

Not when I did "O" levels (mid 70's)! Grades A, B and C were passes, D and E were "good" fails, then you got "F" for hopeless.

Grade A was above around 70-75%, B was around 55% up to A, then C was around 45% up to B. The actual percentages were tweaked a bit each year to allow for some years the papers being a bit easier or harder than others.

[Prettybluepigeons]

How is this trending when it has only one post THIS YEAR??????