How do we calculate a result if a student missed one of their Cambridge Nationals units?

How does it work?

We calculate a mark for the unit you missed based on:

• your marks in the other units
• your performance in the other units compared to all other students

For Cambridge Nationals where possible we only compare ‘like-for-like’ units:

• ‘like’ in this context refers to the assessment type, so coursework units are used to calculate marks for coursework units
• examined units are only used to calculate a mark for a coursework unit if you have not completed any other coursework units

To calculate a mark for the unit you missed, we first calculate:

• the mean: the average mark for each unit based on the marks of all the students for that unit
• the standard deviation: the measure of spread of marks for each unit based on all students for that unit

These will be based on the marks of all students that have completed that unit from all series - not just from your school. This includes resits but not students who were absent.

Example 1 - moderated unit

This candidate is taking a Cambridge National subject (IT) with one examined unit and two coursework units. They were able to complete the examined unit (R050) and one of the coursework units (R060) but were not able to take the assessment for the other (R070).

The mean and standard deviation used below are an example only as these are calculated each series:

Cambridge Nationals use a uniform marks scale (UMS). All marks and calculations shown are UMS.

Calculation

In this example we only use unit R060 in the calculation. R050 is examined and not ‘like-for-like’:

• The candidate's mark for R060 is 37 out of a maximum of 60 marks
• The candidate’s mark on unit R060 is 7 marks or 0.5 standard deviations above the mean:
  • 37 (candidate mark) - 30 (mean mark) = 7
  • 7 ÷ 14 (standard deviation) = 0.5
• Therefore, the calculation for unit R070 is:

Mean mark of unit R070 + (0.5 x standard deviation of unit R070)

= 35 + (0.5 x 13)

= 41.5

= 42 UMS (when rounded to the nearest mark)

Calculated marks of .5 to .9 are rounded up and .1 to .4 rounded down.

Example 2 - examined unit

This candidate is taking a Cambridge National subject (Health and Social Care) with one examined unit and two coursework units. They were able to complete two coursework units (R033 and R035) but not able to take the exam (R032).

The mean and standard deviation used below are an example only as these are calculated each series:

Cambridge Nationals use a uniform marks scale (UMS). All marks and calculations shown are UMS.

Calculation

In this example we cannot use 'like-for-like units' as there is only one examined unit in this qualification. In this example, we will use coursework units R033 and R035.

As we are using two units, there is an additional step required. We first need to calculate an average of their performance in both units compared to the performance of all other students.

Step 1: Calculate the average of the performance in both units

R033

• The candidate's mark for R033 is 42 out of a maximum of 60 marks
• The candidate’s mark on unit R033 is 12 marks or 1.2 standard deviations above the mean:
  • 42 (candidate mark) - 30 (mean mark) = 12
  • 12 ÷ 10 (standard deviation) = 1.2

R035

• The candidate's mark for R035 is 31 out of a maximum of 60 marks
• The candidate’s mark on unit R035 is 4 marks or -0.3 standard deviations below the mean:
  • 31 (candidate mark) - 35 (mean mark) = -4
  • -4 ÷ 13 (standard deviation) = -0.3

Average of performance in both units

We use a weighted average of the performance on the supporting units to ensure that units with more marks carry the correct weight when calculating the mark for the missing unit. In this example, both supporting units have a maximum of 60 marks so the weighting is 1:1:

R033 performance x marks available for R033 + R035 performance x marks available for R035

= (1.2 x 60) + (-0.3 x 60)

=72 + -18

=54

Next we divide this by the total marks available in the supporting units (60 + 60 = 120) 

= 54 ÷ 120

= 0.45

Step 2: Calculate the mark for the missing unit

We will now use the average performance from R033 and R035 (0.45) to calculate the mark for the missing unit R032:

Mean mark of unit R032 + (0.45 x standard deviation of unit R032)

= 55 + (0.45 x 8)

= 58.6

= 59 UMS (when rounded to the nearest mark)

Calculated marks of .5 to .9 are rounded up and .1 to .4 rounded down.

Example 3 - examined unit with supporting units of different size

Cambridge Nationals in Creative iMedia, Sport Science and Sport Studies contain coursework units of different size (GLH). As the maximum mark available in the two coursework units are different, a weighting must be applied when we use them as supporting units.

In this example, the candidate is taking a Cambridge National subject (Sport Studies) with one examined unit and two coursework units. They were able to complete two coursework units (R185 and R186) but not able to take the exam (R184).

The mean and standard deviation used below are an example only as these are calculated each series:

Cambridge Nationals use a uniform marks scale (UMS). All marks and calculations shown are UMS.

Calculation

In this example we cannot use 'like-for-like units' as there is only one examined unit in this qualification. In this example, we will use coursework units R185 and R186.

As we are using two units, there is an additional step required. We first need to calculate an average of their performance in both units compared to the performance of all other students.

Step 1: Calculate the average of the performance in both units

R185

• The candidate's mark for R185 is 60 out of a maximum of 80 marks
• The candidate’s mark on unit R185 is 5 marks or 0.5 standard deviations above the mean:
  • 60 (candidate mark) - 55 (mean mark) = 5
  • 5 ÷ 10 (standard deviation) = 0.5

R186

• The candidate's mark for R186 is 22 out of a maximum of 40 marks
• The candidate’s mark on unit R186 is 2 marks or -0.4 standard deviations below the mean:
  • 22 (candidate mark) - 24 (mean mark) = -2
  • -2 ÷ 5 (standard deviation) = -0.4

Average of performance in both units

We use a weighted average of the performance on the supporting units to ensure that units with more marks carry the correct weight when calculating the mark for the missing unit. In this example, the supporting units have different maximum marks. R185 has a maximum mark of 80, R186 a maximum mark of 40, so weighting must be applied:

R185 performance x marks available for R185 + R186 performance x marks available for R186

= (0.5 x 80) + (-0.4 x 40)

=40 + -16

=24

Next we divide this by the total marks available in the supporting units (80 + 40 = 120) 

= 24 ÷ 120

= 0.2

Step 2: Calculate the mark for the missing unit

We will now use the average performance from R185 and R186 (0.2) to calculate the mark for the missing unit R184:

Mean mark of unit R184 + (0.2 x standard deviation of unit R184)

= 52 + (0.2 x 12)

= 54.4

= 54 UMS (when rounded to the nearest mark)

Calculated marks of .5 to .9 are rounded up and .1 to .4 rounded down.

More information

Your school or college exams officer applies on your behalf about this process so do speak to them in the first instance.

Find more information on the JCQ website:

• Estimating the missing mark for a unit or component