Pearson

Always Learning

Functional skills results explained

Understanding your Functional skills results

See the Annotated Candidate Statement of Provisional Results (CSPR)

How are Functional Skills marked and graded?


	Each subject is available at Entry Levels 1-3 and at Levels 1-2. Results are graded as 'pass' or 'fail'. Functional skills in English is assessed in three units at each level: Unit 1 - Speaking, Listening and Communication Unit 2 – Reading Unit 3 – Writing You need to pass all three units to get the FS English certificate for each level. Functional skills in ICT is assessed by one single test paper at each level. Functional skills in Maths is assessed by one single test paper at each level. You can take the functional skills tests by sitting a paper-based exam at all levels, or by taking an onscreen test at Levels 1-2 for English and Maths.

What is cashing-in?


	Cashing-in is where the marks you scored for the individual units are added together to create an overall functional skills result. It only applies to English. To cash in you have to take all the individual units. Your centre (school, college or training provider) then has to tell us that you want to cash in, so that we know to give you an overall functional skills result.

What if I’m missing a grade?


	English There are two common reasons why you might not have a complete result: Your centre didn’t enter you for a cash-in to get an overall functional skills result You haven’t completed or passed all of the required units to get your overall functional skills result. English, maths and ICT If you don’t have the result you expected, speak to the exams officer at your centre and ask them to get in touch with us.

What is the Uniform Mark Scale (UMS)?


	The Uniform Mark Scale (UMS) ensures that the pass mark has the same value for each exam window. Your certificate shows the uniform mark for functional skills units. If you have a mark of 6, you have passed the unit. If you have a mark of 0, you have not passed.

When will I receive my certificates?


	Certificates are sent to your centre two weeks after the Results Day for each exam session. If you took your exams in January, Results Day will be in March. If you took your exams in June, Results Day will be in August.

Where can I find the grade boundaries?


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

What is special consideration?


	Special consideration is when we issue you a calculated result or extra marks because you’ve had an illness, injury or experienced other personal circumstances that have affected your performance. If you think you may be entitled to special consideration, you should speak to your exams officer. They will make a request on your behalf and we make decisions on a case-by-case basis. Special consideration isn’t shown on the statement of results you’re given by your school or college. However, it is on the subject mark reports that are sent to schools and colleges. If you’d like to know whether special consideration was requested on your behalf, please check with your exams officer.

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 Functional skills grades you wanted?

If your exam mark is lower than you were expecting, please speak to your teacher. After all the teaching that you’ve had, plus the tests and internal exams, they’re in the best position to advise you.

Can I get a copy of my marked exam paper?


	You can ask your centre to request your script. We can’t provide photocopies of marked functional skills scripts.

Can I get my exam paper re-marked?


	Yes, if your centre requests a re-mark. Is a re-mark the best option for me? During a re-mark your marks may go up, down or stay the same. If your marks go down, you cannot reject the re-mark and go back to the original mark. You should speak to your tutor/exams officer to discuss whether you were close enough to the pass mark to make the re-mark worthwhile. Entering for another series might be a better option for you. What does a re-mark involve? A senior examiner will re-mark your paper. Once your paper has been re-marked we do a clerical check to make sure that: • everything you have written has been marked • all of the marks have been added up to give the correct total mark • we’ve entered your total mark correctly on our systems • special consideration has been applied (if it was requested before the exam). You can request that we only perform the clerical check. If you do, this will cost less than having a full re-mark. How long will it take to get my paper re-marked and what will it cost? We aim to have the result of your re-mark back to you within 30 days. The exams officer has the deadlines for submitting re-marks after each exams session. If you miss the deadline you will not be able to request a re-mark. Your exams officer will be able to tell you how much this service will cost. What happens if I am still not happy with my grade after a re-mark? If you are still not satisfied after a re-mark, you can ask your centre to appeal on your behalf.

Can I re-sit my exam?


	If you’re not successful in one exam window, you can take the exam in one of the next available exam windows. Each time you sit the FS exam, a charge applies. For more information, speak to your exam officer about transfer of credit in functional skills. You can find the dates of assessment opportunities for the next academic year on our functional skills key dates page.


	Related links Timetables What can I do next?


	Other qualifications A and AS level results GCSE/International GCSE results BTEC results DiDA results

Send an e-card

Say ‘thank you’ to a teacher or congratulate a friend on their results!