A level results explained

Understanding your AS and A level results

See the Annotated Candidate Statement of Provisional Results (CSPR)

How are AS and A levels marked and graded?


	A levels are normally made up of either four or six separate units. Usually, you’ll do the first two or three units in your first year of college or sixth form – this is your AS level. You’ll then do two or three more units in your second year of college or sixth form – this is your A2 level. AS level (2 or 3 units) + A2 level (1, 2 or 3 units) = 1 A level (3, 4 or 6 units) Individual A level units contribute differently to the overall A level grade. For example, one AS or A2 unit may have a total of 100 marks available, while another may have 75. After you’ve completed each of your AS and A2 level units your marks are converted according to the Uniform Mark Scale. You can then cash in to receive your overall A level, which is graded on a scale of A to E. An unclassified grade (or U grade) is given if your work doesn’t reach the standard required to gain at least an E grade. A grade with a # sign next to it on your results slip is given if you cash in to receive a grade for your AS or A level, but haven’t completed all the required units.

How do I get an A* grade?


	To score an A* at A level you must: • Get an A grade for your overall A level • Produce a high level performance at A2 level - scoring at least 90% of the A2 UMS marks If you do a four-unit A level you must: • Score at least 320 UMS marks for your overall A level grade • Score at least 180 UMS marks at A2 level If you do a six-unit A level you must: • Score at least 480 UMS marks for your overall A level grade • Score at least 270 UMS marks at A2 level. To get an A* in A level Mathematics you must: • Score at least 480 UMS marks for your overall A level grade • Score at least 180 UMS marks in Core 3 and Core 4.

What is cashing in?

Cashing in is where the marks you scored for the individual units are added together to create an overall AS or A level grade.

Each unit and cash-in has a unique code. You have to take all the individual units and then your school or college has to tell us you want to cash in, so we know to give you an overall AS or A level grade. For example, the Edexcel Business Studies A level is made up as follows:

Subject title	Cash-in code	Unit codes
AS Business Studies	8BS01	Unit 1: 6BS01 Unit 2: 6BS02
A level Business Studies	9BS01	Unit 1: 6BS01 Unit 2: 6BS02	plus	Unit 3: 6BS03 Unit 4: 6BS04

If you don’t take all of these units you can still cash in, as long as you were put forward for them all. For example, you may have taken a unit but were absent on the day of the exam. As such, you wouldn’t get a mark for that unit. On your results slip this would show with the # sign, to indicate that it’s incomplete (for example, ‘E#’).

What is the Uniform Mark Scale (UMS)?

A levels are modular qualifications, and you can take exams for individual units at different times. Question papers may vary slightly in difficulty from year to year. For example, a ‘raw’ mark of 53 in one paper in a January exam session might represent the same level of achievement as a ‘raw’ mark of 49 in the following summer exam session. The Uniform Mark Scale (UMS) ensures that these two ‘raw’ marks receive the same value when contributing to the final grade.

The Uniform Mark Scale (UMS) also ensures that results for different A level subjects can be compared to one another in a consistent way.

A level ‘raw’ marks are converted into UMS marks, and a grade is awarded according to these charts:

Two-unit AS or A2 level (200 marks)

Grade	A	B	C	D	E
UMS marks	160-200	140-159	120-139	100-119	80-99

Three-unit AS or A2 level (300 marks)

Grade	A	B	C	D	E
UMS marks	240-300	210-239	180-209	150-179	120-149

Four-unit overall A level (400 marks)

Grade	A	B	C	D	E
UMS marks	320-400	280-319	240-279	200-239	160-199

Six-unit overall A level (600 marks)

Grade	A	B	C	D	E
UMS marks	480-600	420-479	360-419	300-359	240-299

What if I'm missing a grade?


	There are two common reasons why you might not have an overall AS or A level grade as you expected: Your school or college didn’t cash in your units for an overall AS or A level grade You haven’t completed all of the units for a complete AS or A level grade. If you don’t have a grade that you expected, the best thing to do is speak to the exams officer at your school or college and ask them to get in touch with us.

Where can I find the grade boundaries?


	You can find grade boundaries for all UK and international exams taken from January 2009 onwards in our "I want to..." area.

When will I receive my certificates?


	Certificates are sent to your centre (school/ college/ training provider). If you finished your exams in January the latest your centre will receive your certificates is 31 May. If you finished your exams in June the latest your centre will receive your certificates is 31 October.

What is special consideration?


	Special consideration is when we issue you a calculated result or extra marks because you’ve had an illness, injury or other personal circumstances that have affected your performance. If you think you may be entitled to special consideration, you should speak to your exams officer. They will make a request on your behalf and we make decisons on a case-by-case basis. Special consideration isn’t shown on the statement of results you’re given by your school or college. However, it is on the subject mark reports that are sent to schools and colleges. If you’d like to know whether special consideration was requested on your behalf, please check with your exams officer.

Some of my personal details are incorrect on my results slip. What can I do?


	We can make changes such as misspelled names very quickly. We suggest you ask your exams officer to contact us to request any changes. These requests must come from someone at your centre as we have no way of identifying students who call or email us. If we can’t identify you, we can’t make changes to confidential information.

How do my grades compare with those of everybody else who took this exam?


	You can compare your results with those of others in the UK who have completed the same exam by looking at our statistics: Statistics for AEA Statistics for A level This image may help you to understand the layout of the statistics documents.

When will UCAS know what results I have received?

If you are completing your A levels this summer and are a UCAS applicant, we will send your results to UCAS the day before August results day. They collate your Edexcel results with any you have from other exam boards and send these to the universities and colleges from which you've had offers.

What if UCAS haven't received my grades?

There are a few reasons why UCAS may not have received your grades. See the table below to see some of the common problems and their solutions.

Reason	Solution
You are missing a cash-in	Check to see if the grade appears on your results slip. If it doesn't, it it may mean that you haven't been cashed in. If you speak to your exams officer, they should be able to resolve this.
You have been entered for a late cash-in	If you were entered for a late cash-in you don't need to do anything - we will send your results to UCAS within 24 hours of your grade being issued and they will update your application.
Personal details don't match	Sometime we are unable to update the UCAS results database because the details we have are different from the details on your UCAS application. Check that the personal information is correct on your results slip and matches the information on your UCAS application. If it doesn't, ask your exams officer to update our records.
You have been issued a new grade after a re-mark	If you have been issued a new grade, you don't need to do anything - we will send your results to UCAS within 24 hours of your grade being issued and they will update your application.

Didn't get the AS and A level grades you wanted?

If your exam mark is lower than you were expecting, please speak to your teacher. After all the teaching that you’ve had, plus the tests and internal exams, they’re in the best position to advise you.

Can I get a copy of my marked exam paper?

Yes, you can ask your centre to request that we return your marked question papers.

How do I get a copy of my exam paper?

Please speak to your exams officer. They will make an ‘Access to Script’ request on your behalf.

If you want to see a copy of your exam paper so you can make a decision on whether or not to request a re-mark, you will need to request this pretty quickly as the deadline for applications is the week after results day.

If you request a copy of your exam paper after the priority deadline, you will not receive it until after the deadline to submit re-mark requests. If you miss the deadline to apply for a copy of your exam paper completely, we will be unable to process your request.

The deadlines are:

Exam Session	Priority deadline	Standard deadline
January	16 March	28 April
Summer	24 August	4 October

Can I get my coursework back?


	Yes. You can ask your centre to return any project, coursework or controlled assessment. How do I get my coursework back? Edexcel (or your school) will keep your coursework until after results day, in case your school wants to ask questions about your result. If you want your coursework back after results day, please speak to your teacher or exams officer. If we have your work, your teacher or exams officer will be able to request that we return it.

Can I get my exam paper re-marked?

Yes, if your school requests a re-mark.

Is a re-mark the best option for me?

During a re-mark your grade may go up, go down or stay the same. If your grade goes down, you cannot reject the re-mark and go back to the original grade - the only way to improve your grade would be to resit the exam.

The majority of re-mark requests do not result in a change to a grade - simply because the re-mark has shown that the original grade was accurate.

What does a re-mark involve?

A senior examiner will re-mark your paper, checking your answers against the mark scheme. This senior examiner won’t have marked your paper before.

Once your paper has been re-marked, we do a clerical check to make sure that:

everything you have written has been marked
all of the marks have been added up to give the correct total mark
we’ve entered your total mark correctly on our systems
special consideration has been taken into account (if it was applied for before the exam).

You can request that we only perform the clerical check. If you do, this will cost less than having a full re-mark.

How long will it take to get my paper re-marked and what will it cost?

We aim to have the result of your re-mark back to you within 30 days, but if you miss the deadline you will not be able to have your paper re-marked.

We understand that when you have a place at university or a further education college that is dependent on your A level results you need to know the outcome faster. That's why in August we also offer a priority re-mark service where we aim to have the result back to you within 18 days.

The deadlines are:

Exam Session	Priority deadline	Standard Deadline
January exams	Not available	17 April
Summer exams	24 August	20 September

Your exams officer will be able to tell you how much these services cost.

What happens if I am still not happy with my grade after a re-mark?

If you are still not satisfied after a re-mark, you can ask your centre to appeal on your behalf. Appeals do not normally involve re-marking your work a second time, but work will be re-marked if there is evidence that the correct re-marking procedure wasn’t followed during the original re-mark.

Your centre has 14 days after receiving the outcome of your re-mark to appeal. We are not able to process appeal requests after this deadline.

Can I get my coursework re-marked?


	Your teacher marks all project work, coursework and controlled assessment. It is then moderated, meaning that Edexcel requests a sample of your teacher’s marked work and we check that we agree with their assessment. Moderation is necessary to make sure that all students have their coursework assessed according to the same standards. Most of the time, your teacher’s marks will be approved and accepted unchanged. However, sometimes marks are reduced or raised, if the original teacher’s marking was judged to have been too lenient or too harsh. If you think that the mark on your results slip is not the mark your teacher gave you, please check with your teacher to see what happened to marks after moderation. If Edexcel did not adjust your mark, talk to your teacher or exams officer and they’ll get in touch with us. If we did adjust your mark, it may be possible to have the work re-moderated. Can I get my coursework re-marked? Every school or college that enters students for external exams must have an appeals procedure in place. If you think Edexcel has the wrong mark, you must first follow this appeals process. Your school or college will involve Edexcel if it can’t settle the matter internally. Can I get my coursework re-moderated? Coursework can be re-moderated if we changed the marks given by your teacher, but it is up to your school to decide on whether they request this. When Edexcel receives a request for coursework re-moderation, the coursework of all students originally entered at your school or college goes through the moderation process again. Your teacher or exams officer will be able to give you more information on this process.

What happens if I get a lower mark in a resit?


	If you resit an AS or A2 exam, your highest mark will always go towards your final grade. If you resit an exam after your units have been cashed in, you will need to cash in again for your grade to update.

Is resitting a module the best way to improve my overall grade?


	Before deciding to resit, discuss your results with your teachers. You may find that a resit is not your best option. Sometimes, students don't do as well on the next units because their mind is focusing on improving the grade of an earlier unit instead. Remember, it is much more important to get a good mark on a unit that has a higher weighting.

When will I be able to take my exam again?


	Many exams are offered two or three times a year but some are only avaialble once. You can check when your unit is next available by looking at our exam timetables or by speaking to your exams officer. There is a charge for entering each exam and you will need to check with your exams officer to see if your school will pay for you to resit. If you have to pay the entry fee yourself, you can find what we charge your centre on the fees page of our website. However, please be aware that many schools and colleges will charge an administration cost on top of our fee.

I'm a UCAS applicant. What are my university clearing options?


	On results day we send your results to UCAS who automatically forward them to the universities and colleges from which you’ve had offers. For more information on what happens next, visit the UCAS website. What is clearing? Clearing is a UCAS service that matches students to courses that still have places available. It runs from mid-July until September and is a real option if you didn’t apply for university or still want to go to, but didn’t get the grades you needed. For more information on whether you can apply through clearing, speak to your careers or Connexions advisor or visit the UCAS website. What courses can I apply for through clearing? Lists of courses with places available are published on the UCAS website and in national newspapers after results day. Not all universities, colleges or courses have vacancies in clearing, but you don’t have to stick with the subjects you originally applied for – you may find something you are better suited to or that you are more interested in. For more information on the clearing process, check out the UCAS website.