How we mark exams and decide grades
Your exam paper journey
Satisfy your curiousity on what happens to your exam paper once you've left the exam room.
How grades are decided
Once we have everyone's marks here's how we decide what's needed for an A, B, C or D grade.
Use the tabs below to open each section individually. Alternatively you can show all the sections.
What are grade boundaries and why do we need them?
After exams and coursework are completed, all question papers are packaged up and securely sent to be marked. Over 6,500 experienced, subject-expert teachers and lecturers from across Scotland – mark the question papers and coursework.
Once marking is complete, 140 awarding meetings take place to evaluate how the exams and coursework has performed.
If we find that a course exam has been easier or more difficult than intended, we adjust the grade boundaries to make sure that the level of difficulty required to achieve an A, B, C or D in the assessment remains unchanged from one year to the next.
The aim is to ensure standards are maintained year on year, so that the qualifications and grades awarded retain their value and currency.
Who decides on the grade boundaries?
Grade boundary decisions are made using the expert judgement of senior examiners, the Principal Assessor and their depute. Decision meetings are chaired by SQA staff.
Are grade boundaries the same for every course and every level?
After exams and coursework are completed, all question papers are packaged up and securely sent to be marked. Over 6,500 experienced, subject-expert teachers and lecturers from across Scotland – mark the question papers and coursework.
Once marking is complete, 140 awarding meetings take place to evaluate how the exams and coursework has performed.
If we find that a course exam has been easier or more difficult than intended, we adjust the grade boundaries to make sure that the level of difficulty required to achieve an A, B, C or D in the assessment remains unchanged from one year to the next.
The aim is to ensure standards are maintained year on year, so that the qualifications and grades awarded retain their value and currency.