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MAKING THE GRADE: QUESTION AND ANSWER

What are exams for anyway?

This issue’s Question and Answer takes an overview of A-level exams. It is not aimed at any one specification (see Box 1), but rather provides an explanation of what A-level geography exams are trying to do. If you are taking your final exams in summer 2023 then it’s unlikely you took external GCSE exams because of the Covid-19 situation. Yet you gained your GCSE grade by doing assessments, tests and mock exams in your own school or college. A-levels in 2020 and 2021 were awarded in a similar way. So why go back to external exams? In short, what are they for? What’s being tested that can’t be tested in your own school or college?

Figure 1 Demand steps and AOs in geography exams

This Question and Answer provides an overview of A-level geography exams. For details of your specific exam board mark tariffs, Assessment Objective weightings and mark schemes, you should always look carefully at your A-level specification, past papers and sample assessment materials (AQA, Eduqas, Edexcel or OCR).

A-levels were introduced in 1951 and have not changed very much since then. They consist of exams that are set and marked by examiners outside of your school. Where A-levels contain coursework, this will most likely be marked by your teachers but be moderated by examiners outside of your school who check that the marking across different schools is consistent. External exams have some advantages:

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The April 2021 Nefyn landslide and earthflow

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Tracking the spread of Covid-19

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