Grade boundaries

Grade boundaries allow you to attribute descriptive grading outcomes to scores that fall within a range of values.

For example:

Grade descriptor	Test score
Distinction	>=80%
Merit	>=65%
Pass	>=50%
Fail	<50%

These descriptive outcomes are then displayed in several places in the system and can be provided back to test-takers on the Candidate Feedback Report. 

Setting grade boundaries

• Step 1 of 5

  Navigate to Exams > Set standard and then Grades from the set standard page.

  

• Step 2 of 5

  The next page presents two options. Either to create a set of example grades which can be edited, or to Add new grading values from scratch. Select either Create example grades or Add new grade to get started.

  

• Step 3 of 5

  The former option creates a set of example grades as a starting point. You can type over, delete or add new values to your requirements.

  

• Step 4 of 5

  Alternatively, starting from scratch, we can click Add new grade four times to follow our example noted above.

  

• Step 5 of 5

  Type in the appropriate values to reflect your grading scale and click Save to commit.

  

  Grades must always run from zero at the lowest value working on a greater than or equal to basis. In the example shown a score greater than or equal to 50 denotes a Pass, and a score greater than or equal to 65 denotes a Merit. 

Working with grade boundaries

Once the grade boundaries have been set they are applied to the candidate's scores in several places within the system.

• Candidates processing page: An additional column, Grade, is populated with the grading outcome IN ADDITION to the system-generated passing score. 
• Export results: An additional grade column is populated in various result exports. 
• Dimension(s): Any grades set against dimensional passing criteria will be shown at the URL in the Dimension(s) column on the candidate result view page.
• Candidate feedback report: The grading value is shown instead of the system-generated passing value in the overall section of the candidate feedback report.

It is important to note that grading values act as labels against the the scores that fall within a particular range of numerical values. Using the word "pass" (or similar) as one of the grading labels DOES NOT override the system-generated passing score. To align the two use one of the methods suggested below.

• Manually override the passing score to match the value at the bottom of the range for your "pass" grading label. For example, if your pass grade sits at 50%, manually override the passing score to match it at 50%.
• If you are always working to a predefined passing standard we can enable a PASS_SCORE_OVERRIDE setting which means you will be able to set a value to override the system-generated passing score during the construction of your exam blueprint. This value will then be set as the passing score whenever an exam that uses this blueprint is run. Please contact us to discuss if this seems like a good option for you.