From marks to grades – this guide will help you demystify the O Level grading system of CAIEs Pakistan. Whether you are currently enrolled in O Level or planning to do so, understanding the O Level grading system will assist you in your plan of studies.
We recommend reading this guide if you are choosing GCSE subjects based on the O Level grading system, grade thresholds and results of previous years. Choosing subjects is considered to be a weighty decision for students, so we will add in some advice to make the choice easier for you.
Cambridge International’s curriculum pioneers a gold standard in education worldwide. Sought after by employers and international universities, O Level in Pakistan is in the middle of a Cambridge pathway leading to A Levels and beyond. Therefore, O Level is considered to be a transition to harder subjects.
O Level grading system of CAIEs Pakistan
Cambridge Assessment International Education (CAIE) receives over eight million answer scripts a year from all over the world. Every script needs the correct mark so that everybody gets the correct grade. Following is a detailed process explained by Cambridge International:
- Students put down their pens. The exam is over, and the scripts are packaged up and sent back to Cambridge.
- Most scripts are scanned, ready to be marked on a computer screen by examiners. For any exam, every student’s work is marked in the same way.
- Some scripts are marked on paper and some, such as multiple choice exams, are marked automatically by a computer.
- A few days after the exam, a team of Cambridge’s experienced senior examiners get together to mark a sample set of scripts.
- Cambridge examiners are teachers or experts in their subject.
- Then the scripts are passed to our teams of examiners. Every examiner practises by marking the same scripts as the senior team to make sure they understand how to mark to the same standard.
- The examiners are now ready to start marking. Senior examiners check the marking of every examiner to make sure that they keep marking correctly.
- If one examiner is not able to mark consistently, they are asked to stop. Another examiner then re-marks their scripts.
- Cambridge urns marks into grades by using grade boundaries. Grade boundaries are the minimum marks that students need to achieve a grade. We use a mixture of statistical evidence and expert judgement to agree grade boundaries.
- Grade boundaries vary slightly from year to year. Exam papers can vary slightly in difficulty, so we take care to set the grade boundaries in the right place so you don’t get a lower grade just because the paper you sat on was more difficult than last year’s.
- Once the grade boundaries have been agreed, we apply them to your marks to give you a grade.
- Senior examiners carry out final checks on the marking. Once we’ve done all of our checks, your results are sent back to your school.
Visit the Cambridge source here!
What is O Level?
Many students in Pakistan want to know what is O Level? O Level is the equivalent of matric education in Pakistan and it is internationally recognized by universities and employers.
O Level students are tested on subject knowledge, conceptual understanding, and higher order thinking skills. Past papers, examiner notes, marking schemes, and sample papers are made available to the students through local schools or at Cambridge website.
Percentage blocks for each grade
| Grade | Percentage |
| A* | 90% + |
| A | 80-89% |
| B | 70-79% |
| C | 60-69% |
| D | 50-59% |
| E | 40-49% |
| U (Ungraded) | 0-40% |
Cumulative world grade totals
Cambridge releases cumulative grade totals after each O Level exam in June/November. These grades inform you about how students performed in specific subjects. Note that the grade awarding standard may change each year. Students do see the previous years’ world grade average to see which subjects are exceptionally hard to get a high grade in.
Take a look at the cumulative grade totals of June 2022.
Grade threshold tables
Cambridge gives you a complete look at grade thresholds in every subject after results have been released. These tables inform you of raw grades for each component and also the minimum raw mark required for each grade.
O Level subjects groups
Now that you have learned about how you will be graded in O Level, let’s take a look at O Level subjects.
| Overview of subject choices | ||||
| Group 1 | Group 2 | Group 3 | Group 4 | Group 5 |
| Physics | Physics | Business studies | Economics | Economics |
| Chemistry | Chemistry | Economics | Business studies | Computer science |
| Biology | Computer Science | Accounting | Add maths/humanities | Arts |
| Add maths/humanities | Add maths/humanities | Add maths/humanities | Add maths/humanities | Add maths/humanities |
Note that Cambridge does not limit you to take a maximum number of courses. However, students do tend to balance their workload of classes by taking 3-4 elective courses, in addition to the 5 compulsory courses.
Does your school offer a subject that you want to study?
Not all schools offer all the subjects. Therefore, you have to check with your school office whether a specific subject is offered or not. Many times, students are eager to appear in a subject that is outside the school offerings. In such a case, proper planning needs to be done with the help of tutors and parents.
You can check the CAIE website to look at the complete list of subjects.
Your choice of subjects affects your grade
Students are advised to make careful decisions when taking subjects in O Level. So, let’s take a look at the considerations when choosing subjects:
#1 Which career do you want to be in?
O Level students may not have a clear idea about career choices because they have just started to explore a more complex way of studying subjects. Therefore, clarity is not expected at this stage. To help you brainstorm, take a look at all different types of careers that people take up around you.
#2 What are your interests?
Do you enjoy science or maths or creative writing inspires you more? This is simply a question of your personal choice. Students tend to like a subject because they are naturally curious about that subject or the teacher is so inspiring that he or she brings life to a subject students wouldn’t be interested in.
#3 What are you good at?
It is likely that your interests lie somewhere else but you are good at another subject. Students are good at a subject because they have had a good base in previous grades and they naturally spend more time on a particular subject.
If you are good at a subject, it is always a great idea to pick that subject. Eventually that will become your favourite subject as well! When you are good at a subject, you spend less time:
- working on examples, making notes, and questions.
- worrying about the exams and class times.
Also, you spend more time enjoying the learning process.
#4 Long-term goals
Always keep an eye on the bigger picture as well, which is mostly your aptitude plus career. As noted above, it is not always clear as to what students want to be as professionals. Therefore, more preference should be given to the aptitude of the students at this time.
After the right choice of subjects, comes time management!
Always running to catch the class? Time flies, we all know that. But things can go a bit out of hand when it costs us a class or marks of an assignment. Good news is that habits can change and we can learn the importance of time management for students.
Time and productivity gurus have come up with fascinating ways to manage time for an increased output. Let’s read ahead to find out creative and research backed ways to manage your time.
#1 Time blocking technique
A popular strategy of scheduling your day is “time blocking”. It is a simple yet effective way to maximise your time by blocking time for specific activities.
For instance, if you have to study physics alone, join a group for chemistry, and do some research on language in a single day then the time block will allow you to “block” the time against the task.
#2 Pomodoro technique
Pomodoro technique is a tested way to increase your productivity by reducing your distractions. It specifically limits the time spent on focused thinking to 25 minutes, followed by a few minutes of break-time to reward yourself, and then back to work.
#3 The day theming technique
If you need to prepare for your exams and you need to cover one subject everyday, then day theming will work best for you.
You will dedicate each day to one subject only. In this technique, you don’t need to set aside time blocks for each sub-task.
#5 Task batching technique
Task batching technique is used to group similar and smaller tasks together. You will also schedule a specific time for each smaller task and define a larger time frame to finish all the small tasks.
For instance, if you need to solve the example exercises of maths. First assign time for each example. Then you will assign a time for finishing all the examples. You can use task batching during an exam as well when you will time and group the tasks.
#5 The time boxing technique
In time boxing, you set aside time for a specific task and box the task in it. In other words, time boxing is like imposing a time limit of a certain task on which you will work dedicatedly. The boxed time is a self-imposed boundary that will force you to finish the task in time. The most common example of time boxing is your test or exam at school!
Teachers know why time management is important for students. That’s why your exam time is boxed.
That is all from us on understanding the O Level grading system, subject choices, and the best ways to manage your time. Would you like to share your biggest takeaway with your friends in the comments below?
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