What are the OCR AS Grade Boundaries in 2020 and Why They Matter

Grade boundaries set by OCR are the minimum number of marks you need to score in your AS exam to achieve a certain grade. The grade boundaries change for every exam series, so they will be different in 2020 than they were in previous years. Grade boundaries are set after your OCR AS exams have been marked, so you won’t know the exact grade boundaries for the 2020 exams before you take them.

This article will provide you with the grade boundaries for OCR AS 2020, help you interpret them, and provide tools to help you succeed in your exams.

Subject	Year	Maximum Mark	A*	A	B	C	D	E
AS GCE Ancient History	2020	120	-	86	71	56	42	28
AS GCE Art and Design: 01 Art, Craft and Design: Externally set task	2020	80	-	-	-	-	-	-
AS GCE Art and Design: 01 Critical and Contextual Studies: Externally set task	2020	80	-	-	-	-	-	-
AS GCE Art and Design: 01 Fine Art: Externally set task	2020	80	-	-	-	-	-	-
AS GCE Art and Design: 01 Graphic Communication: Externally set task	2020	80	-	-	-	-	-	-
AS GCE Art and Design: 01 Photography: Externally set task	2020	80	-	-	-	-	-	-
AS GCE Art and Design: 01 Textile Design: Externally set task	2020	80	-	-	-	-	-	-
AS GCE Art and Design: 01 Three-Dimensional Design: Externally set task	2020	80	-	-	-	-	-	-
AS GCE Biology A	2020	140	-	83	72	61	51	41
AS GCE Biology B (Advancing Biology)	2020	140	-	73	63	53	43	33
AS GCE Business	2020	60	-	-	-	-	-	-
AS GCE Business	2020	60	-	-	-	-	-	-
AS GCE Chemistry A	2020	140	-	101	87	73	59	45
AS GCE Chemistry B (Salters)	2020	140	-	80	67	54	41	29
AS GCE Classical Civilisation: A Option components 11, 21	2020	130	-	100	91	82	73	64
AS GCE Classical Civilisation: B Option components 11, 22	2020	130	-	99	89	79	70	61
AS GCE Classical Greek	2020	160	-	107	93	79	65	52
AS GCE Computer Science	2020	140	-	86	74	62	50	39
AS GCE Design and Technology: 01 Design Engineering: Principles of Design Engineering	2020	90	-	-	-	-	-	-
AS GCE Design and Technology: 01 Fashion and Textiles: Principles of Fashion and Textiles	2020	90	-	-	-	-	-	-
AS GCE Design and Technology: 01 Product Design: Principles of Product Design	2020	90	-	-	-	-	-	-
AS GCE Drama and Theatre	2020	80	-	-	-	-	-	-
AS GCE Economics	2020	120	-	84	71	58	45	32
AS GCE English Language: 01 Exploring language	2020	60	-	-	-	-	-	-
AS GCE English Language: 02 Exploring contexts	2020	60	-	-	-	-	-	-
AS GCE English Language and Literature (EMC)	2020	100	-	73	65	57	49	42
AS GCE English Literature	2020	120	-	99	86	73	61	49
AS GCE Film Studies	2020	105	-	-	-	-	-	-
AS GCE Further Mathematics A: Option Y531+Y532+Y533	2020	180	-	99	84	69	55	41
AS GCE Further Mathematics A: Option Y531+Y532+Y534	2020	180	-	101	87	73	59	45
AS GCE Further Mathematics A: Option Y531+Y533+Y534	2020	180	-	95	81	67	54	41
AS GCE Further Mathematics B (MEI): Option Y410+Y411+Y412	2020	180	-	105	90	75	60	45
AS GCE Further Mathematics B (MEI): Option Y410+Y411+Y413	2020	180	-	98	83	69	55	41
AS GCE Further Mathematics B (MEI): Option Y410+Y411+Y414	2020	180	-	100	85	70	55	41
AS GCE Further Mathematics B (MEI): Option Y410+Y412+Y413	2020	180	-	102	88	74	60	47
AS GCE Further Mathematics B (MEI): Option Y410+Y412+Y414	2020	180	-	104	89	75	61	47
AS GCE Further Mathematics B (MEI): Option Y410+Y413+Y414	2020	180	-	97	83	69	56	43
AS GCE Geography	2020	150	-	87	74	61	48	35
AS GCE Geology	2020	120	-	-	-	-	-	-
AS GCE History A	2020	100	-	67	57	47	37	27
AS GCE Latin	2020	160	-	109	94	79	65	51
AS GCE Law	2020	160	-	79	66	53	40	27
AS GCE Mathematics A	2020	150	-	91	76	62	48	34
AS GCE Mathematics B (MEI)	2020	140	-	94	80	66	52	38
Level 3 Certificate Core Maths A (MEI)	2020	144	-	104	91	78	65	52
Level 3 Certificate Core Maths B (MEI)	2020	144	-	103	91	79	67	56
AS GCE Media Studies	2020	70	-	-	-	-	-	-
AS GCE Music	2020	100	-	-	-	-	-	-
AS GCE Physical Education: 01 Physiological factors affecting performance	2020	70	-	-	-	-	-	-
AS GCE Physical Education: 02 Psychological and socio-cultural themes in physical education	2020	70	-	-	-	-	-	-
AS GCE Physics A	2020	140	-	95	84	73	62	51
AS GCE Physics B (Advancing Physics)	2020	140	-	92	81	70	59	48
AS GCE Psychology	2020	150	-	100	88	76	64	53
AS GCE Religious Studies	2020	180	-	124	105	86	67	48
AS GCE Sociology	2020	75	-	-	-	-	-	-
AS GCE Sociology	2020	75	-	-	-	-	-	-

Source: OCR

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What is the best way to prepare for your AS OCR exam?

The best way to prepare for your OCR AS exam is to start your revision early. Begin with a list of topics for all your AS courses and highlight the ones you are the most unsure about. Create a revision timetable with short periods of focus, giving the most time to these topics.

Ideally, you will want to revise all the topics for each subject, but often there just isn’t time. Prioritising topics will help you make the best use of the time you do have, and will give you the biggest increase in marks for your AS exams.

Use revision notes to revise OCR AS content. Flashcards are a great tool to practice recall, reinforce key concepts and boost memory retention. Then use exam questions to test your understanding and identify any areas that you are still unsure of.

It is also super helpful to use 2020 OCR AS past exam papers to practice your exam technique. Set a timer for the amount of time allowed for your OCR AS exam, and sit the paper under exam conditions. This will help you to manage your time more effectively. It will also help increase your exam stamina! It is difficult to concentrate and to write for extended periods, so you need to practice this before the big day.

Explore AS Study Tools

How to interpret 2020 grade boundaries for OCR AS exams

Grade boundaries are established by exam boards such as OCR to reflect student performance in any given year. It is important to understand that the AS grade boundaries are set after the AS exams have been marked.

A variety of methods are used to ensure the grade boundaries are set fairly. Statistical analysis and examiner judgement are used to ensure the grade boundaries are fair and consistent with previous years.

Each AS exam paper is different, so the level of difficulty of the paper as a whole can fluctuate slightly from year to year. For example, if an entire cohort of students finds an exam paper particularly difficult, the grade boundary is lowered slightly so that students are not unfairly penalised.

Looking at the OCR AS grade boundaries for previous years can help you get an idea of the marks you need in 2020 to achieve the grade you want. With this information and your OCR AS past paper scores, you can get an idea of the grade you are currently working at. You will be able to see how many marks you would have needed to get the higher grade. Armed with this information and an effective revision process, you can successfully work to increase your grade.

A word of caution. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the OCR AS grade boundaries were lowered to minimise the disadvantage faced by students who missed school due to lockdowns. Therefore, the grade boundaries for the OCR AS years 2020 to 2022 will not be representative of other years.

Looking for OCR AS subject specific grade boundaries?

OCR AS grade boundaries from other years

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