Cambridge for
exams officers
What is in your component marks report
March 2016
You will receive a component marks
report containing a breakdown of
all your candidates’ marks for the
March 2016 series. The report will
not include a breakdown of marks
for candidates who have received
‘PENDING’ outcomes. The
component marks report will help
you and your teaching staff develop
a deeper and more rounded
understanding of your candidates’
exam performance.
As part of our quality assurance
process, when examiners have
marked question papers we check
that the marks are fair, valid and all
marked to the same standard. The
information in the report will show
the journey a candidate’s mark takes
from the raw mark to the final mark.
The only mark that is a confirmed
judgement of a candidate’s
performance is the final mark.
Our component marks report will:
• contain marks for each component
of the syllabus for every candidate
you have entered
• show the raw, adjusted and final
mark for each component
• b
e released on the CIE Direct
homepage and in the ‘File
Transfers’ section of CIE Direct
by Monday 23 May 2016.
If you make an enquiry about results
and your enquiry leads to a component
mark change we can update your
component marks report upon request.
To request an updated report email
info@cie.org.uk once your enquiry
has been closed. We can also
provide an updated report on request
for ‘pending’ outcomes once a grade
is issued.
We upload all updated reports on a
weekly basis. We would need to
receive your request in writing to
info@cie.org.uk by 12:00 UTC/GMT
on a Wednesday for the report to be
uploaded by Friday of the same week.
There will be a guidance section at
the front of your component marks
report explaining the different types
of information it contains. This
guidance is to help you better
understand the information in the
report. Please consider carefully
how, and with whom, you share the
component marks report.
Guide to types of mark and grade in the component marks report
Mark/grade
Description
Example
Raw mark
This is the mark that the examiner gave the candidate for the work
on the paper (or ‘component’). It is the mark you would see on the
candidate’s completed examination script. Take care when
comparing the mark for different papers as the maximum mark for
different papers may not be identical.
18 out of a possible 40
Adjusted
mark
The raw mark may be adjusted as the result of scaling, the granting of
special consideration or both. Usually we do not need to adjust marks.
When we do not do this the adjusted mark will be the same as the
raw mark. Scaling is applied to ensure consistency across the marking
process and the different examiners that we use.
Special consideration is granted if we agree to an earlier formal
request from a Centre.
19 out of a possible 40
(18 on the candidate’s
script, plus 1 to bring
the mark in line with all
other marking of the
same paper; no special
consideration sought
or granted)
chart continued on next page
Please share this factsheet with teaching staff in your Centre.
What is in your component marks report March 2016
Guide to types of mark and grade in the component marks report continued
Mark/grade
Description
Example
Component
grade
This is an indicator of the candidate’s performance on a particular
component and usually ranges from Grade A to Grade E (or Grade G
for Cambridge IGCSE®). It is not possible to receive Grade A* as a
component grade, only as a syllabus grade. The component grade
is determined by comparing the adjusted mark to the component
grade thresholds.
Grade C for
the component
Final mark
This is the adjusted mark that has been multiplied by a weighting
factor to give the result of the paper its correct weighting within the
result of the overall qualification. For example:
28.5 out of a possible 60
• A Cambridge IGCSE with two components
carries 100 marks.
(18 on the script, plus 1
to give an adjusted mark
of 19, multiplied by 1.5)
• One component accounts for 60 per cent of the result.
• The maximum mark for that component is 40.
We would have to multiply all adjusted marks for that component by
1.5 to convert them from a mark out of 40 to a mark out of 60. Usually
we do not need to weight marks. When we do not use weighting the
final mark will be the same as the adjusted mark.
Syllabus
(or option)
total
This is the total of the final marks for the different papers the
candidate took in the subject (and any coursework components).
The total mark is rounded to the nearest whole number.
Take care when comparing the syllabus total mark for two candidates
taking different options as the grade thresholds for different options
may not be identical.
Syllabus
(or option)
grade
This is the indicator of the candidate’s performance for the syllabus
overall and usually ranges from Grade A* to Grade E (or Grade G
for Cambridge IGCSE). It is not possible to receive Grade A* at
Cambridge International AS Level, where the available grades range
from a to e.
To determine a candidate’s syllabus grade we compare their syllabus
total mark with the grade thresholds for the syllabus. You cannot
usually work out a candidate’s syllabus grade from their component
grades. This is because a candidate whose component grades were
A, A and B might receive an A*, an A or a B overall. This will depend
on where they came within the A and B ranges for each paper, and
on the relative weights of the three papers.
95 out of a possible 200
(28.5 out of 60, plus
marks on other paper(s)
or coursework added up
and compared to the
maximum mark)
Grade D because the
candidate’s syllabus total
was 95 out of 200 and
– in this case – we
required at least 103 for
a Grade C and at least 88
for a Grade D
Please share this factsheet with teaching staff in your Centre.
® IGCSE is the registered trademark of Cambridge International Examinations
© Cambridge International Examinations, March 2016