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Original poster

Correlation between GCSE grade and subsequent A level grade

32 replies

INeverSeeYou · 28/05/2025 11:26

Someone helpfully posted the above data for Maths, but does this exist for other subjects?

Particularly interested in Art and Physics for DC.

OP posts:
12345change · 28/05/2025 19:28

WomensRightsRenegade · 28/05/2025 18:41

To say D and E aren’t fails is being disingenuous. By what metric are they not a fail? Those grades certainly won’t be seen as a pass by anyone in the real world.

My son got 5s in all subjects except RE where he got a 7. He ended up with ABB at A level (A in Psychology) so with a lot of motivation and application it is possible to make huge leaps. A levels and long form essay writing actually suited him and his neurodivergent brain much more than GCSEs.

Probably different for Maths and other STEM subjects though.

You're wrong and are doing a disservice to all those students out there that get D and E's many of whom go on to university and are successful in the workplace.

Emanresuunknown · 28/05/2025 19:44

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In 2024 5% got a 9 in maths and a further 7.1% got an 8. So pretty similar to the 13% getting an A/A* in 2005...

Emanresuunknown · 28/05/2025 19:49

So if you think of a 7 as really more comparable to a high B in the old grading... Most people dropped a grade at A-level when there were no A stars. People who got A star gcse got A at a-level. Someone with a high B could expect a C or maybe a low B at best.

Emanresuunknown · 28/05/2025 19:53

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Sorry I've just realised it changed my post and took out the stars and instead made bits bold!!

It should have said the percentage that used to get A star was similar to the percentage that now get a 9. And the percentage that used to get an A is similar to the percentage that now get an 8. For maths anyway
So really 8 and 9 are equivalent to the old A and A star.

As shown by the comparison between 2005 and 2024 for maths .
2005: 13% got A or A star
2024: 12.1% got 8 or 9

Hollyhedge · 28/05/2025 20:09

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Hollyhedge · 28/05/2025 20:46

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Hollyhedge · 29/05/2025 08:10

Emanresuunknown · 28/05/2025 19:53

Sorry I've just realised it changed my post and took out the stars and instead made bits bold!!

It should have said the percentage that used to get A star was similar to the percentage that now get a 9. And the percentage that used to get an A is similar to the percentage that now get an 8. For maths anyway
So really 8 and 9 are equivalent to the old A and A star.

As shown by the comparison between 2005 and 2024 for maths .
2005: 13% got A or A star
2024: 12.1% got 8 or 9

Show quote history

The maths stats I see for 2024 show 3% on a 9, 9% 8 and 15.7% 7 (cumulative). So a shift from 20 years ago but still harder to get 8s and 9s than As and A*s. By about 2010 though looks a lot more like A+ maps to 7+ in Maths. Other subjects vary hugely from what I can see. I guess the 7 = A was based on where grades had got to by 2015??

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