Guidance

Economics: grade descriptors for GCSEs graded 9 to 1

Updated 6 September 2017

Applies to England

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1. Grade 8

To achieve grade 8, candidates will be able to:

  • demonstrate relevant and comprehensive knowledge and understanding of a wide range of economic concepts and issues
  • apply knowledge and critical understanding to select appropriate economic tools to analyse economic behaviour in a range of both familiar and unfamiliar, theoretical and applied contexts
  • use a range of relevant quantitative skills
  • critically analyse and evaluate available evidence to investigate and explain economic behaviour, and make reasoned, substantiated judgements and conclusions
  • use a wide range of subject specific terminology

2.  Grade 5

To achieve grade 5, candidates will be able to:

  • demonstrate mostly accurate and appropriate knowledge and understanding of a range of economic concepts and some economic issues
  • apply knowledge and understanding to select basic economic tools to analyse economic behaviour in familiar and some unfamiliar, theoretical and applied contexts
  • use some relevant quantitative skills
  • analyse and provide some evaluation of evidence to explain economic behaviour and make plausible judgements and conclusions
  • use some appropriate subject specific terminology

3. Grade 2

To achieve grade 2, candidates will be able to:

  • demonstrate basic knowledge and understanding of some economic concepts or issues
  • attempt to use basic economic concepts, often through the use of everyday languages
  • use some obvious, simple quantitative skills
  • describe or repeat economic information to support simplistic judgements or views
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