Calculating linear grades

Weighting factors are used in linear qualifications, e.g. the reformed AS and A Levels and GCSEs. 

In linear specifications, each component has a given number of raw marks available. For example, a written paper with ten compulsory questions, each worth five marks, has a maximum mark of 50. We call this the raw mark.

However, the maximum raw marks across components do not always reflect the relative value each component has within the overall specification. 

We use weighting factors to make sure that, when a candidate’s marks for each component are added together, the relative values are correctly reflected. 

The weighting factor is the maximum weighted mark of a given component divided by the maximum raw mark of the component.

A qualification has three components each marked out of 50:

• Component 1 is worth 50% of the overall assessment, and the other two components are each worth 25% of the overall assessment.
• In order for component 1 to achieve its 50% weighting, we have to weight up the maximum raw mark from 50 to 100.
• Thus component 1 has a weighting factor of 2.
• The other two components both have a maximum weighted mark of 50 (i.e. the same as the maximum raw mark) so they have a weighting factor of 1.
• The overall qualification has a total of 200 ‘weighted marks’.

To grade linear qualifications, we:

• Multiply the raw mark for each component by its weighting factor to give a weighted mark for each component 
• Add these weighted marks together to form a total mark 
• Apply the subject grade boundaries to the total mark to determine the subject grade.

For the reformed A Levels being awarded in June 2019, the A* will be set using statistical and technical evidence.

This statistical evidence is based on the ‘comparable outcomes’ philosophy. This means that, broadly speaking, the same proportions will get A* in the reformed A Levels as in the unitised A Levels or, in the case of reformed A Levels in their second and third years, broadly the same proportions will get A* as in the previous year – assuming candidates are similar in ability.