Most people only need a handful of Tariff values in their head, and they are easier to remember once you see the pattern. This guide walks through the grades people actually hold, then the totals that offers are actually built on.
A level: eight points per grade
The A level scale runs in even steps of eight. An E is 16, a D is 24, a C is 32, a B is 40, an A is 48 and an A* is 56. Because the steps are even, every grade you improve anywhere adds eight points, regardless of subject.
That gives three A levels a range from 48 points, for three Es, to 168, for three A* grades. The mid-point, three Cs, is 96. Three Bs is 120.
AS level: about 40 per cent of an A level
An AS at A is 20 points, B is 16, C is 12, D is 10 and E is 6. Notice the steps are uneven at the bottom, and that an AS at A is worth less than half an A level at A. It is a stand-alone qualification since the reforms in England, and only counts if you did not complete the A level in that subject.
BTEC Nationals: size matters
The A-level-sized BTEC, the Extended Certificate, matches A level at the top: D* is 56 and D is 48. Below that the steps widen. M is 32, the same as a C, and P is 16, the same as an E. So a Merit is a bigger drop from Distinction than a C is from a B.
The Diploma, two A levels in size, runs from DD at 112 down to PP at 32, with DD at 96 and MM at 64.
The Extended Diploma, three A levels in size, runs from DDD* at 168 to PPP at 48. The values most often quoted in offers are DDD at 144, DDM at 128, DMM at 112 and MMM at 96.
Cambridge Technicals use exactly the same values at each size.
T Level: one big grade
A T Level is scored as one qualification the size of three A levels. Distinction* is 168, Distinction is 144, Merit is 120. Pass splits in two: 96 if your core component was graded C or above, 72 if it was D or E.
International Baccalaureate: by component
Higher Level subjects score 56 for a 7, 48 for a 6, 32 for a 5, 24 for a 4 and 12 for a 3. Standard Level subjects score exactly half of those. The Extended Essay and Theory of Knowledge score separately, from 12 for an A to 4 for an E. Grades 1 and 2 score nothing. Add every component to get the total.
Scottish qualifications
A Higher at A is 33, B is 27, C is 21 and D is 15. An Advanced Higher at A is 56, B is 48, C is 40 and D is 32, so the Advanced Higher A matches an A level A*. Do not count a Higher and the Advanced Higher in the same subject together.
Smaller qualifications
An Extended Project Qualification is worth half an A level at every grade: A* is 28, A is 24, B is 20, C is 16, D is 12, E is 8. The Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate is scored exactly like an A level.
The totals that offers use
Points-based offers cluster around a few values, and it helps to know what each one looks like in grades.
- 96 points is CCC at A level, MMM on an Extended Diploma, or a T Level Pass with a strong core.
- 104 points is BCC, or an Extended Diploma between MMM and DMM, which is not a grade that exists, so BTEC students usually need DMM.
- 112 points is BBC or DMM.
- 120 points is BBB, a T Level Merit, or an Extended Diploma between DMM and DDM.
- 128 points is ABB or DDM.
- 144 points is AAA, DDD, or a T Level Distinction.
Notice the gaps. A points total that falls between two BTEC grades is really asking for the higher grade. If a course quotes 104 and you are on an Extended Diploma, you need DMM at 112, because MMM at 96 falls short.
What is worth nothing
GCSEs, functional skills, most professional certificates and many regulated Level 3 diplomas have no Tariff value. That includes the OTHM and Qualifi Level 3 diplomas this site describes. Their worth is as a route to Level 4 study, not as points. If you were hoping one would lift your total, it will not, and it is better to know that before you enrol.