AQA GCSE Maths grade boundaries: November 2020
Just the Maths figures, so you don't have to search the board's whole document. Pick another board or series below.
Heads up: boundaries in November 2020 were set lower than usual after the pandemic, so don't use them to predict a normal year's grade.
Higher tier
The lowest mark you need for each grade: the whole exam out of 240, and each paper out of 80.
| Grade | Total (240) | % | Paper 1 | Paper 2 | Paper 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 194 | 81% | 64 | 65 | 65 |
| 8 | 159 | 66% | 51 | 53 | 54 |
| 7 | 124 | 52% | 39 | 42 | 43 |
| 6 | 95 | 40% | 30 | 32 | 33 |
| 5 | 67 | 28% | 21 | 22 | 24 |
| 4 | 39 | 16% | 12 | 12 | 15 |
| 3 | 25 | 10% | 7 | 7 | 10 |
Foundation tier
The lowest mark you need for each grade: the whole exam out of 240, and each paper out of 80.
| Grade | Total (240) | % | Paper 1 | Paper 2 | Paper 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 146 | 61% | 48 | 50 | 47 |
| 4 | 116 | 48% | 38 | 41 | 37 |
| 3 | 86 | 36% | 28 | 30 | 27 |
| 2 | 56 | 23% | 18 | 19 | 17 |
| 1 | 26 | 11% | 9 | 9 | 8 |
In November 2020, a grade 4 on AQA Higher needed 39 out of 240 and a grade 7 needed 124; a grade 9 needed 194. On Foundation, a grade 4 needed 116 and a grade 5 needed 146.
These are the lowest total marks across all three papers, from AQA's official document. The Higher grade 4 boundary was 10 marks lower than November 2019. November is the resit series, sat mostly by students retaking GCSE Maths, so its boundaries can differ from June's.
How to use these boundaries
Sit all three November 2020 papers, add your marks out of 240, then find your grade in the table. What the numbers mean: our guide to grade boundaries.
Questions
What was the grade 4 boundary for AQA GCSE Maths November 2020?
39 out of 240 on Higher and 116 out of 240 on Foundation.
How many marks did you need for a grade 9?
194 out of 240 on Higher (about 81%). A grade 9 is only available on Higher.
Are grade boundaries the same every year?
No. They are set after every exam series, depending on how hard the papers were. Compare November 2019, on its own page.
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