Combined science grades

[Alsoplayspiccolo]

Can someone please clarify how combined science grades would be presented on a school's results table?

For example, would a 66 be entered twice for each student attaining it, as it is worth 2 GCSE grade 6s?
And would they enter a 65 as a 5 overall?

There still seems to be some confusion as to what the double grades actually mean; I just watched a YouTube video by a science teacher who said that 65 means you have achieved a 6 and a 5, whereas another teacher said it means you have two 5s, but both at the higher end of the grade boundary.

[Comefromaway]

I do have to say that although the decision to allow two separate sciences at ds's school has been brilliant for my son (he has asd and has an extreme aversion to biology) for the vbast majority of children studying all three whether in triple or combined double is better.

[sanityisamyth]

Science is a core subject for a very good reason. Many aspects of all three subjects overlap, and many topics covered are useful in everyday life - not just to pass an exam. Being able to choose to study only one or two of the sciences is not wise for the vast majority of the population. If there are good reasons (medical, religious etc) then I can understand not studying certain topics, but to opt out because you "don't like" a subject or "find it boring" should never be recommended.

[Lougle]

Why would they have 400 marks available on an exam, but the top grade is scored when you have just 237 marks? I understand about SD curves, etc., and I understand that the foundation paper is easier than the higher, so they shouldn't achieve the same grade for the same marks, but it seems really odd not to differentiate between a student who got 237 marks and a student who got 400 marks on the test.

[sanityisamyth]

@Lougle the grade boundaries are set after the exams have all been marked. The top 20% of students (however many marks they got) would be awarded a grade 7+.

"Percentage of those achieving at least a grade 7 who will be awarded a grade 9 = 7% + 0.5 × (percentage of students awarded grade 7 and above)"
^ofqual.blog.gov.uk/2017/04/05/setting-grade-9-in-new-gcses/^

It's a really small percent of students who get the grade 9 so it does identify them as the top performers, regardless of how many marks they got.

Doing it this way enables the same % of students to get the top grades, regardless of how difficult the exam was. The grade boundaries can be raised or lowered for the papers accordingly.

[Lougle]

Thank you. I understand that for the higher paper. I think I was confused that the top grade for the foundation paper was so low - 237/400. I suppose that there just can't have been many children with 237+ marks in that paper.

[Alsoplayspiccolo]

I'm still utterly confused that 3 subjects can be combined to give 1 total marks that is then used to give 2 grades!
If someone gets 7-6, how can that be a 7 and a 6; how can it be said that you gave achieved 2 different grades, when the grading is issued from a single, combined total score?
My DC's school claims to have 9 students who achieved 9s in combined science this summer, but who knows whether that's actually 9-9 or includes 9-8?

Does anyone know how it's notated in Wales, where they still use A-G?

[titchy]

If someone gets 7-6, how can that be a 7 and a 6

Don't think about it as a 7-6 - really it's a 6.5-6.5. But when have you ever seen a grade 6.5, or 4.5? No-one would know what that meant, so they call it 7-6 as grades in full numbers is what is understood.

Wales would grade the above as AB I assume.

[TeenPlusTwenties]

I guess the only time it matters is when 6th forms or employers need '5 at grade 6' or whatever. Then there needs to be some understanding as to whether a 6-5 could count as 1 of those grade 6s, or not.

[CobwebKate]

The results of all six papers are added together to give a raw total score. The grade boundaries are then calculated on a scale of these raw total scores. Imagine the grade boundaries for double science as going from 1 - 18 rather than 1 - 9, because it is worth 2 GCSEs, that’s how many grade boundaries there are, 18, rather than 9. But then it needs to be given as 2 GCSEs so it is split into 2. My DD got an 8 7 in 2018. It would be as though her grade was a 15, they don’t express it as such and don’t use half grades so it is expressed as an 8 7. Her best friend scored 3 marks higher which took her into the next grade boundary which was the 16th grade boundary expressed as an 8 8. They are two separate grades. My DD got 2 x 9, 5 x 8 (one of which was science) and 2 x 7 ( one of which was science).

Sorry that is probably clear as mud, but it makes sense to me!