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Raw and UMS marks
For Modular qualifications, the raw mark is the number of marks a learner achieved on an exam or assessment.
The UMS mark (Uniform Mark Scale) is a conversion of the raw mark.
The grade converter can be found on our website here.
This does not apply to Linear qualifications, which now use scaled subject marks and are awarded at qualification rather than at paper level. However, we also provide a component scaling calculator to help you transfer raw marks into scaled ones.
The component scaling calculator can be found here. |  |
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Additional Information
For some of our qualifications, components can be taken at different times throughout the course. For example, some of our Edexcel A level Mathematics exams can be completed in the first or second year of study.
To make sure that any differences in the difficulty of exams or assessments are taken into account when adding up your marks to give an overall grade, we convert the ‘raw’ or exam paper mark into a UMS mark. |
UMS grade boundaries are fixed so they are the same for each exam session. Raw mark grade boundaries may change for each exam session.
The raw mark is never shown on your results slip, so students will either see a UMS mark, a points score or no numerical mark at all.
Exams officers can find the raw mark on the 'Component Mark List' report from Edexcel Online. If you have access to ResultsPlus or ResultsPlus Direct, you can also find the raw mark on the question paper screen.
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Why isn't there a Raw mark for each UMS mark?
Our senior examiners determine the grade boundaries using raw marks, which are then mapped to the UMS grade boundaries published in the specification.
In some cases, converting two consecutive raw marks will give non-consecutive UMS marks. This means that it won't always be possible to achieve all UMS marks on a particular exam or assessment. |  |
Example: A level Biology Unit 1 (6BI01/01) taken in summer 2013
Raw mark
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UMS mark
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| 36 | 36 | | 37 | 39 |
| For this exam paper there is no raw mark which converts to a UMS mark of 37 or 38 - so it wouldn’t be possible to obtain a UMS mark of 37 or 38 in this exam.
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UMS marks and the maximum amount of UMS marks as shown in the grade boundaries
When taking one of our Edexcel GCSE foundation tier papers, the highest grade you can achieve is a C. This is because foundation tier papers don’t assess the skills or knowledge required for a grade B.
To ensure that the UMS mark you’re awarded doesn’t contribute more to your overall grade than the difficulty of your paper permits, the maximum number of UMS marks you can achieve is capped. | 
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Related Articles:
Results Reports: Breakdown Of Candidate Results
Results: GCSE And A-Level Scaling
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