ICT GCSE Results GENERAL INFORMATION (Essential) As part of the on‐going program of changes rolled out by government the school’s ICT course has changed its content, the way it is assessed and the way it is graded every year for the last 3 years. Despite these challenges the ICT department has been able to harness the huge enthusiasm for the subject among the pupils and guide each full year cohort to 100% ‘Pass’ grade or higher. The current incarnation of the ICT course used by the school is the ‘Cambridge National Certificate in ICT. It is split into both an exam‐based, and several coursework‐based units. All units are marked out of 60. The table below shows you the grade boundaries for the units. The school is also using the ‘Unit Grade’ descriptions on the progress report and the table shows you how you can convert the grades you see on the progress report into the equivalent GCSE grade. Unit Mark out of GCSE Equivalent Grade 60 Grade *2 54+ A* D2 48+ A M2 42+ B P2 36+ C (Min GCSE pass) D1 30+ D (Below GCSE pass) M1 24+ E P1 18+ F U Below 18 Unclassified When you see these grades on your child’s progress report it can be confusing to see ‘M2’ rather than ‘B’. However these are the grades used in lessons and as such putting a GCSE equivalent on the progress report would only confuse students. The ICT dept. is working with individual YR11 students to find the best strategy for them to ensure they attain the best ICT result possible. This may involve a retake of the exam in January 14 and again in June 14 if required, re‐submission of improved coursework units or a combination of these strategies. Students will be advised of their situation over the coming weeks, and will be invited to after school revision sessions / coursework improvement sessions if required. The department has a policy of ‘no‐one is left behind’ and do everything in its power to help students achieve a Pass grade in ICT. DETAILED INFORMATION (Technical). The R001 examined unit is worth 25% of the students’ ICT grade. The other 75% being made up of 3 coursework units each worth 25%. All units are marked out of 60 and all have the same grading structure (see table below). Scores for the 3 coursework units (R007, R002 and R005) are added to the examined unit score (R001) giving an overall score out of 240 (60 x 4). To gain a GCSE pass, students need a total score of 144 from the 4 units (36 x 4). The 144 marks required (for a min GCSE grade C equivalent pass) can be made up in any proportion from the 4 units. E.g. a student could have R001 : 32, R007 : 38, R002 : 24 and R005 : 50…giving 144 total and a final grade of P2 (C at GCSE). All 4 units must be completed to gain a final grade, even if students have enough points with just 3 units. To gain a *2 (A* equivalent) they need a minimum of 4 x 54 (216/240). To gain a D2 (A equivalent) they need a minimum of 4 x 48 (192/240) and so on. At the moment we know their confirmed R007 scores (submitted to the exam board last year), their R001 exam scores (June this year), also we know a provisional R002 mark. Currently students are working on their final unit (R005) which will be submitted in May 2014 and they will receive their final overall ICT grade in August. The ICT dept. is working with individual YR11 students to find the best strategy for them to ensure they attain the best ICT result possible. This may involve a retake of the exam in January 14 and again in June 14 if required, re‐submission of improved coursework units or a combination of these strategies. Students will be advised of their situation over the coming weeks, and will be invited to after school revision sessions / coursework improvement sessions if required.