Grade Distribution & Boundaries: AQA A Level Psychology (2018)

Here is a more detailed analysis of the national results for AQA A-Level and AS-Level Psychology, for 2018.

A-LEVEL:

• While the percentage of students achieving the top grade (A*) did not change (4.7%), the number of students achieving A to D grades dropped. However, the number of students who passed remained the same, meaning that only 2.7% of students failed the A-Level exams.
• At A-Level, AQA had a 5.5% increase in the number of entries, bringing the total to 46,739 entries. AQA continues to be the largest providing for A-Level Psychology.

AS-LEVEL:

• The AS results declined across the board, with fewer students achieving every grade (A-E) in comparison to 2017.
• In addition, the number of entries nearly halved for the second year in a row, seeing the total drop from 27,580 in 2017 to 14,507 in 2018.
• The decline of AS Psychology and the fall in results is not surprising, as more centres opt to take the linear A-Level. Furthermore, students (and teachers) are aware that the AS qualification has less importance

GRADE BOUNDARIES

Here are the grade boundaries for AQA A-Level and AS-Level Psychology, for 2018.

A-LEVEL:

• The grade boundaries for Papers 1 and 2 both dropped slightly, while the grade boundaries for Paper 3 increased.
• Overall, the grade boundaries for all grades (A*-E) were two to three raw marks lower in 2018 in comparison to 2017. This could be the result of a weaker cohort of students, or a more challenging set of papers.

AS-LEVEL:

• The reverse is true of AS Psychology; with higher grade boundaries in Papers 1 and 2 and significantly higher boundaries for all grades, overall. The largest increase was seen at the top end: Grade A required 7 raw marks more in 2018, in comparison to 2017.