DiDA results explained

This page provides help with understanding your DiDA results, including information on how your grades compare to GCSEs and an explanation of how re-marking works.

Understanding your DiDA Results

How is DiDA marked and graded?

DiDA is a modular qualification, which means that it is made up of units. Each unit (regardless of level) is marked out of 42 raw marks. This mark is just the number of marks you have obtained from the total available.

During the awarding process, we decide where the grade boundaries lie and you are awarded a grade based on where your mark lies within these boundaries.

Raw marks are converted to a uniform mark using the Uniform Mark Scale (UMS) to take account of variations in difficulty between Summative Project Briefs (SPBs) and exam sessions. For example, a distinction in January 2010 could be based on a raw mark of 38 and in June 2010 it could be 39. The Uniform Mark Scale (UMS) ensures that these two marks receive the same value when contributing to the final grade and it is the UMS mark that is printed on your results slip.

At the end of your course, the UMS marks for each unit are added up to give you an overall mark. The maximum number of UMS marks for a Level 1 units (D101-D105) is 42 and the maximum for a Level 2 unit (D201-D205) is 84. This overall mark is then converted to an overall grade based on the number of UMS marks you have achieved:

Level 1 Qualifications

Uniform mark total
Grade	AiDA	CiDA	CiDA+	DiDA
Pass	18	36	54	72
Credit	24	48	72	96
Merit	30	60	90	120
Distinction	36	72	108	144
Maximum	42	84	126	168

Level 2 Qualifications

Uniform mark total
Grade	AiDA	CiDA	CiDA+	DiDA
Pass	36	72	108	144
Credit	48	96	144	192
Merit	60	120	180	240
Distinction	72	144	216	288
Maximum	84	168	252	336

What is cashing in?

Cashing in is the last stage of generating a grade for a qualification that is made up of a series of units.

If your school or college did not enter the cash-in code, you will not have a final grade. In this instance, speak to your exams officer who will be able to check whether or not a cash-in code was submitted. If it wasn’t, please ask your exams officer to contact us so that your grade can be calculated as soon as possible.

The table below shows the cash-in codes for each DiDA qualification.

Qualification Name		Cash-in code
Qualification Name		Level 1	Level 2
AiDA	Award in Digital Applications	GA1DA	GA2DA
CiDA	Certificate in Digital Applications	GC1DA	GC2DA
CiDA+	Extended Certificate in Digital Applications	GE1DA	GE2DA
DiDA	Diploma in Digital Applications	GD1DA	GD2DA

What if I’m missing a grade?


	The most likely reason is that you have an incomplete result. This could be caused by a forbidden combination (when you have been entered for the wrong unit) or you have not been entered for a cash-in code. If you don’t have a grade that you expected, the best thing to do is speak to the exams officer at your school or college and ask them to get in touch with us.

What is the Uniform Mark Scale (UMS)?

Level 1 Qualifications

Uniform mark total
Grade	AiDA	CiDA	CiDA+	DiDA
Pass	18	36	54	72
Credit	24	48	72	96
Merit	30	60	90	120
Distinction	36	72	108	144
Maximum	42	84	126	168

Level 2 Qualifications

Uniform mark total
Grade	AiDA	CiDA	CiDA+	DiDA
Pass	36	72	108	144
Credit	48	96	144	192
Merit	60	120	180	240
Distinction	72	144	216	288
Maximum	84	168	252	336

How does my result compare to a GCSE?

At Level 1 and 2, you can get an Award, Certificate, Extended Certificate or Diploma.

Award	Certificate	Extended Certificate	Diploma
1 GCSE	2 GCSEs	3 GCSEs	4 GCSEs

They are graded as follows:

DiDA Level 2 result	GCSE grade
Distinction	A*
Merit	A
Credit	B
Pass	C

DiDA Level 1 result	GCSE grade
Distinction	C
Merit	D
Credit	E
Pass	F/G

Where can I find the grade boundaries?


	You can find grade boundaries for DiDA qualifications taken from January 2009 onwards on the DiDA grade boundaries page.

When will I receive my certificates?


	Your certificate will be sent to your school or college. If you finished your course in January the latest your centre will receive your certificate is 31 May. If you finished your course in June the latest your centre will receive your certificate is 31 October.

Some of my personal details are incorrect on my results slip. What can I do?


	We can make changes such as misspelled names very quickly. We suggest you ask your exams officer to contact us to request any changes. These requests must come from someone at your centre as we have no way of identifying students who call or email us. If we can’t identify you, we can’t make changes to confidential information.

Didn't get the DiDA grades you wanted?

If your DiDA result is lower than you were expecting, you should speak to your teacher. They have access to your submitted project work (e-portfolio) and are in the best position to advise you.

Can I get my coursework back?


	Yes. You can ask your centre to return any project, coursework or controlled assessment. How do I get my coursework back? Edexcel (or your school) will keep your coursework until after results day, in case your school wants to ask questions about your result. If you want your coursework back after results day, please speak to your teacher or exams officer. If we have your work, your teacher or exams officer will be able to request that we return it.

Can I get my coursework re-marked?


	Your teacher marks all project work, coursework and controlled assessment. It is then moderated, meaning that Edexcel requests a sample of your teacher’s marked work and we check that we agree with their assessment. Moderation is necessary to make sure that all students have their coursework assessed according to the same standards. Most of the time, your teacher’s marks will be approved and accepted unchanged. However, sometimes marks are reduced or raised, if your teacher’s marking was judged to have been too lenient or too harsh. If you think that the mark on your results slip is not the mark your teacher gave you, please check with your teacher to see what happened to marks after moderation. If Edexcel did not adjust your mark, talk to your teacher or exams officer and they’ll get in touch with us. If we did adjust your mark, your teacher will need to decide if they want to send back all of the work from your school or college for re-moderation. Can I get my coursework re-marked? Every school or college that enters students for external exams must have an appeals procedure in place. If you think Edexcel has the wrong mark, you must first follow this appeals process. Your school or college will involve Edexcel if it can’t settle the matter internally. Can I get my coursework re-moderated? It is not possible to re-moderate an individual piece of coursework or re-moderate work where we didn't change your teacher's mark. Coursework can be re-moderated if we changed the marks given by your teacher, but it is up to your school to decide on whether they request this. The rules around marking and re-marking coursework and controlled assessments are set by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) and apply to all major awarding organisations within the UK. When Edexcel receives a request for coursework re-moderation, the coursework of all students originally entered at your school or college goes through the moderation process again. Your teacher or exams officer will be able to give you more information on this process.

Can I downgrade my unit from Level 2 to Level 1?


	If you do not wish to resubmit your project at Level 2, your teacher can re-mark your project at Level 1 and re-enter the mark in the next academic session.

View your results online!

Find out more about ResultsPlus Direct.

Results information
	Get results information for a different qualification.
Convert your marks
	Change your UMS marks to raw marks and vice versa.
Understanding raw and UMS marks
	Get more information about what raw and UMS marks are.
What can I do next?
	Advice and ideas on what to do after results day.
Exam timetables
	Find dates for your exams.