Special consideration

To work out a grade when a candidate has missed one or more components, we generate marks – which we call ‘assessed marks’ – for the missing components based on the candidate’s performance in their other components in the syllabus. 

We work out what position the candidate is in, compared to all the other candidates, for the components they took. We put the candidate in the same position for the component(s) they missed. We check what mark candidates would normally receive in that position on the list, and give them those marks.

For example, Amina is entered for a Cambridge IGCSE which has three components. She is absent for an acceptable reason for the Paper 1 exam, but she takes Paper 2 and Paper 3.

In the exam series there will be

• Some candidates who take Paper 1, Paper 2, and Paper 3 as expected
• Other candidates who take Paper 2 and Paper 3 and are unable to take Paper 1, and who receive assessed marks.

Our method for calculating assessed marks is designed to make sure that candidates with assessed marks for a component are not advantaged or disadvantaged.

First, we add up the total marks for Paper 2 and Paper 3, for the candidates who took all three papers, and work out how many candidates scored each total mark.

• We also work out Amina’s total mark for Paper 2 and Paper 3. We compare her mark to the marks scored by the candidates who took all three papers.
• In Amina’s case, we find that 80 per cent of candidates have a higher total score than her for Paper 2 and Paper 3, and 20 per cent of candidates have a lower score than her.

The next step is to look at the marks for Paper 1 that the candidates who took all three papers scored.

• We put Amina in the same position for Paper 1 as she is for the total score for Paper 2 and Paper 3.
• In Amina’s case, her mark for Paper 1 will put her in the position where 80 per cent of candidates have a higher score than her and 20 per cent have a lower score than her.
• This means the mark that Amina is awarded for Paper 1 will reflect how well she did on the other two papers, and it is not giving her an advantage or disadvantage compared to the candidates who took all three papers.

Amina’s assessed mark for Paper 1 is added to her marks for Paper 2 and Paper 3 and she is awarded a syllabus grade in the usual way.

Yes. In our Code of Practice, we say that candidates will be treated fairly in all circumstances (aim 5.2). To treat candidates fairly, our special considerations will not give a candidate receiving them an advantage over other candidates (5.2i).  

The method we use to produce assessed marks reflects a candidate’s position relative to the other candidates for the components they have all done. This means it is designed to make sure that achieving each assessed mark is neither easier nor harder than achieving the same mark through completing the exam. 

Of course, we strongly recommend that candidates plan to take all the components they can – it is better educationally, fairer for candidates, and reduces the risk that a candidate misses every component and cannot be given a grade.

We are confident that grades awarded where candidates have assessed marks are appropriate because the way that they are produced does not give candidates an advantage or disadvantage. 

There are syllabuses where performance on the different components does not always correlate strongly. It may be that some candidates perform better on paper 1 than on paper 2, while other candidates perform better on paper 2 than on paper 1. Where this is the case, it is possible that a candidate’s grade using an assessed mark might not be the same as the grade they would have got from taking the component. However, to treat all candidates equally, we award an assessed mark that reflects a candidate’s position relative to the other candidates for the components they have all done.