What GCSE grades can be expected relative to percentages

[Catharticvheesetoastie]

Hi .. in my day anything above 50% was a pass .. so I want to check I’ve not got a false sense of security with my own kids . I’ve got one who’s doing well in science and maths but struggling with English . For sixth form he needs a 6 in English . Can anyone give me a clue what sort of percentage he needs to be working at to get that ?

my other son finds everything harder but is normally about 60% in maths and sciences .. again just wanting a clue about likely grading - what sorts of options might be open to him . I don’t want to put ideas in his head that are unachievable but equally if he would benefit from some extra help - I don’t want to have not provided it through ignorance!

thank you

What school years are they in? Surely their teachers have provided target grades. expected grades, etc.

I think you can look up grade boundaries on the examination board websites if you know what exam board they are sitting each exam with.

If they are doing real exam papers then you can look up the boundaries on the exam board site.

Otherwise it is anyone's guess, because it will depend on how the school has set its exams. A better indicator if lower down the school may be what set your DS is in.

It is not as simple as %. Different papers carry different weight, different subjects have different grade boundaries. Within Foundation level papers you need to score a higher % to achieve a pass grade than on the Higher papers.

Thanks -oh dear I can see that I might have asked an impossible question !

they are year 8 and 9 , but the year 9 is already doing GCSE work .. I’m not so worried about him really as his school seem quite on it

year 8 - is at a different school , where it all seems very relaxed , he has a target 7 in lots of things , but doesn’t seem to be working at that level and nobody seems particularly concerned . I guess I was thinking that if I could line up the marks that come home I’d be able to figure out if I should be worried .

Oh and I forgot to say year8 school don’t set

If they don't set, I would maybe try asking him for info such as highest, lowest and mean scores to see where he is sitting.

Or if need be contact teacher and ask outright if they think he is still on track for the 7.

Unless they are sitting whole exam papers, it is really hard to judge. If a set of questions is particularly easy or hard, it changes where the average kids sits.

But, to my eyes, pass marks on GCSE papers are surprisingly low, with a lot of marks being able to be lost before you don't get the top grades. Big caveat to that: I have knowledge of a subject that offers foundation and higher papers. But in those science papers just over half marks seems to get top grades.

That’s really helpful thank you