Question 1

What are Edexcel International A-Level Economics grade boundaries?

Accepted Answer

Edexcel International A-Level Economics (specification YEC11) is a unitised qualification: you sit multiple exam units across two years, not one linear assessment at the end. Each unit has its own raw-mark boundaries per grade, published by Pearson every summer once marking is complete. Because unit UMS totals are fixed proportions of the unit maximum, Pearson publishes both a raw boundary (the actual marks you need on that paper) and a UMS boundary (the uniform-mark-scale equivalent).

The raw boundaries move a little from year to year, because every paper is a slightly different test. The UMS row stays fixed by design: it's calibrated to smooth out paper difficulty across years.

Question 2

How is A* awarded in Edexcel International A-Level Economics?

Accepted Answer

A* on International A-Level isn't a single fixed UMS threshold like grades A to E. It's a compound rule with two conditions you have to meet at the same time:

**1. Grade A overall.** Your combined UMS across all units must be at least 320 out of 400 (an A grade at cash-in level).

**2. 90% of UMS on your A2 units.** Your aggregated UMS across the A2 units must be at least 90% of their combined UMS maximum.

Because the second condition is measured on the A2 half only, students who did particularly well on their A2 units are more likely to lift into A*.

Question 3

What does UMS mean and why does the UMS row never change?

Accepted Answer

UMS stands for Uniform Mark Scale. Pearson uses it so that marks from different units and different exam series can be compared fairly. Each unit has a fixed UMS maximum, and the grade boundaries on the UMS row are fixed proportions of that maximum (80 percent for an A, 70 percent for a B, 60 percent for a C, 50 percent for a D, and 40 percent for an E, plus 90 percent for A* on A2 units).

What in fact varies each year is the raw-to-UMS conversion. If a paper turns out more difficult than usual, fewer raw marks convert to the same UMS score. The upshot is that your UMS score reflects your standard of achievement, not the specific paper's difficulty in that series.

Question 4

What's the 'cash-in' row at the bottom of the table?

Accepted Answer

'Cash-in' is Pearson's term for aggregating your unit UMS scores into a single qualification grade. There are two cash-ins for International A-Level Economics: **International AS (XEC11)**, which combines the AS units into a 200-UMS total, and **International A Level (YEC11)**, which combines all units (AS + A2) into a 400-UMS total.

The AS cash-in is a standalone qualification you can leave with after year one. The A-Level cash-in is the full qualification. The UMS thresholds at cash-in level are fixed 80/70/60/50/40 percent proportions of the maximum.

Question 5

When are the Edexcel International A-Level Economics grade boundaries published?

Accepted Answer

Pearson normally publishes International A-Level grade boundaries at 8am on results day for each series. International A-Level runs both a January and a June exam series each year, with separate boundaries for each. The boundaries land on Pearson's grade boundaries page in a dedicated 'International AS/A Level' PDF.

We update this page shortly after each series is released, so you can look up your unit total against the fresh boundaries and see what grade it would have earned.

Browse [A-Level Economics past papers](https://cognito.org/courses/alevel/economics) for every board we cover, including Edexcel International.

Question 6

Does Cognito have Edexcel International A-Level Economics past papers?

Accepted Answer

Yes! Our [A-Level Economics (Edexcel International) past papers](https://cognito.org/courses/alevel/economics/iedexcel/past-papers/by-year) collection is free and has every published unit paper and mark scheme in one place.

For revision, we'd suggest working through unit-by-unit questions in the run-up to your mocks, then saving two or three full timed papers for the last few weeks before your exam.

Series	Max	Grade A	Grade B	Grade C	Grade D	Grade E
Jun 2025 · Unit 1: Markets in ActionLatest	80	59	53	47	41	36
Jun 2025 · Unit 2: Macroeconomic Performance and Policy	80	58	53	48	43	38
Jun 2025 · Unit 3: Business Behaviour	80	54	49	44	39	34
Jun 2025 · Unit 4: Developments in the Global Economy	80	56	51	46	41	36
Jun 2024 · Unit 1: Markets in Action	80	59	53	47	41	36
Jun 2024 · Unit 2: Macroeconomic Performance and Policy	80	55	49	43	38	33
Jun 2024 · Unit 3: Business Behaviour	80	53	48	43	39	35
Jun 2024 · Unit 4: Developments in the Global Economy	80	50	44	38	32	26
Jun 2023 · Unit 1: Markets in Action	80	54	47	41	35	29
Jun 2023 · Unit 2: Macroeconomic Performance and Policy	80	53	47	41	36	31
Jun 2023 · Unit 3: Business Behaviour	80	49	44	39	34	29
Jun 2023 · Unit 4: Developments in the Global Economy	80	52	46	40	34	28
Jun 2022 · Unit 1: Markets in Action	80	53	46	39	33	27
Jun 2022 · Unit 2: Macroeconomic Performance and Policy	80	50	43	36	29	23
Jun 2022 · Unit 3: Business Behaviour	80	50	43	37	31	25
Jun 2022 · Unit 4: Developments in the Global Economy	80	53	46	39	33	27

A-Level Economics Edexcel International Grade Boundaries

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