A question I get asked by many parents!
A few parents have said to me that they think their child should learn exam technique nearer to the exams!
THIS COULD NOT BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH - let me explain why
Let me guess, your child got amazing GCSE results in Biology or even across the board.
They probably revised mostly near to the exams.
Am I correct?
This works for GCSEs because a lot of the time, students start the content of their GCSEs in year 9, giving them 3 years to learn and understand the course.
This may not be the case for everyone. Nevertheless, the GCSE exam itself is a lot ‘nicer’ than the A level exam.
Let’s do a side by side comparison of the AQA assessment objectives for both GCSE and A level to see why this is the case…
1. At GCSE there are only two exam papers, whereas at A level there are 3 papers.
2. The three main components of AO1 (knowledge/content), AO2 (application of knowledge) and AO3 (analysis and evaluation) are present at both GCSE and at A level.
However if you look closely at AO2 and AO3 at A level, then you will see that this is much more detailed and is very specific.
3. The component weightings at GCSE are the same in both paper 1 and paper 2.
Overall, there is 40% content, 40% application and only 20% analysis and evaluation.
4. The component weightings at A level differs drastically to that of GCSE. Each paper assesses all of the components, however; one of the components is assessed more than the other two components in each of the papers.
- Paper 1 primarily assesses content;
- Paper 2 assesses application;
- Paper 3 assesses analysis and evaluation.
The overall weighting is only 30-35% content over 3 papers, leaving the rest as application and interpretation of data.
5. Finally, you can also see at A level, mathematical skills and practical work are both specifically mentioned as part of the exam assessment, which is not written in the GCSE specification particularly.
Hopefully, just by looking at the information above, you can already see the difference in GCSE Biology and A level Biology.
BUT THE DIFFERENCES DO NOT STOP THERE!
I always say to my students that learning Biology at A level is the like studying a new language with all the scientific words; learning maths and statistics; writing essays, therefore learning English language; and of course science all rolled into one subject.
On top of that, the extent of content that they will learn is extremely vast and a massive jump from GCSE.
Moreover, if they were to learn the content of a full Biology textbook, then it is a possibility that they could FAIL!
WHY?
Because learning HOW to answer the different types of exam questions that they will be asked is key to getting a high grade.
There are six different types of exam questions plus the 25 mark essay question that they need to know how to answer. They are:
Short answer questions
Long/extended answer questions
Comprehension questions
Mathematical/statistical questions
Data analysis questions
Required practical questions
Each type of question is a skill that they need to learn to be able to answer them correctly.
Unfortunately, it is not ALWAYS possible for teachers at school to go through these types of questions in depth because of the sheer amount of information they need to teach their students within the two years.
So what do students need to do to achieve the higher grades?
Learning the content like the back of their hand.
Understanding the exam papers and the types of questions that they will get asked.
Knowing how to answer each type of question, including the essay question.
Learning how to apply their knowledge to something unknown.
These are skills that students need to start learning from day one of their A levels, but a lot of students think that they can do what they did at GCSE and wait until the last minute.
By the end of year one, students realise that they need to work a lot harder to get the higher grades.
Remember if your child got a 7 or higher at GCSE, that does not automatically mean that they will get an A or even a B at A level.
If you have any questions for me, please get in touch and I’ll be happy to answer any questions related to A level Biology.
Please have a look at my A level Biology Exam Preparation course and curriculum below to see how I can give your child the skills to get an A or A* in A level Biology.
Aarti