A* @ A Level

Rob Morris, Shrewsbury School

rhm@shrewsbury.org.uk

Contents:

• The Current Situation

•Understanding the A* Grade

• Improving Students Essay Writing

• Improving Students Synoptic Understanding

• Toolkit of Ideas

•Conclusions

The Current Situation

Trends in A-level geography entry between 2006 and 2013

Source: Joint Council for General Qualifications

Source: Joint Council for General Qualifications

2013 % A Level Grades by Board

A* A B C D E U

Edexcel 4 22 29 25 14 5 1

OCR 7 27 31 21 11 3 1

AQA 7 23 29 24 13 4 1

Source: University of Buckingham

National percentage figures for A level grades

Source: Joint Council for General Qualifications

Percentage of A* Grades by Subject –2013

A* Grades by Subject Source: Joint Council for General Qualifications

2010 2011 2012 2013

Art and Design 13.3 14.2 13.1 12.2

Biology 8.0 8.8 7.9 8.0

Business Studies 3.7 3.8 3.3 3.0

Chemistry 9.2 9.4 8.8 8.3

Classics 9.6 10.8 10.7 10.3

Economics 8.8 8.6 7.8 7.0

English 7.4 7.1 6.8 6.2

French 7.7 7.7 6.8 6.5

Geography 6.8 7.1 6.3 5.6

German 9.9 9.1 7.9 8.2

History 7.0 7.2 6.9 6.5

Maths 17.2 17.8 17.4 16.8

Further Maths 29.9 27.5 28.6 28.0

Physics 10.3 10.4 9.9 9.2

Political Studies 8.7 8.8 7.0 6.7

Psychology 5.2 4.3 4.2 4.0

Religious Studies 6.0 5.5 5.0 4.9

Spanish 8.5 8.3 6.8 6.7

Sport/PE 4.2 4.4 3.8 3.7

All subjects 8.1 8.2 7.9 7.6

A* Grades in Geography, Biology and Economics 2010-2013

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

2010 2011 2012 2013

% A

* G

rad

es

awar

de

d

Edexcel

OCR

AQA

A* Grades by Board 2010 -2013

Understanding the A* Grade

To achieve an A* you must:

• Achieve a grade A overall for the A level qualification i.e. more than 320 ums – 80%

• AND achieve an average of 90% of the combined uniform mark total for the A2 units.

• In order to achieve 90% of the ums for A2, the candidate will need to achieve the top level of the mark schemes in Unit 3 and Unit 4 of the A2 exam.

• This means directly addressing the specific command word in the question (e.g. ‘assess’, ‘evaluate’) and ensuring that answers meet requirements in terms of range, balance, use of examples and quality of written communication.

Improving Students Essay Writing

What do you do to improve your student’s essay writing?

Improving Synopticity

What do you do to improve your student’s synopticity?

Engaging and challenging gifted students

Reading – Books

The GA Post 16 Phase Special Interest Group approved reading list is in your

resources

Reading – Periodicals

Reading – Newspapers

Reading – Principal Examiners Reports

Watching TV and Video

Podcasts

Social Media – Twitter

Inspirational Fieldwork

School Resources – VLE?

Competitions

Extended Project Qualification (EPQ)

• Become more critical, reflective and independent

learners;

• develop and apply decision-making and problem-

solving skills;

• increase their planning, research, analysis,

synthesis, evaluation and presentation skills;

• learn to apply new technologies confidently;

• demonstrate creativity, initiative and enterprise.

Thinking like a Geographer? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIPcOSNwVjw

Annex1: Essay Writing: A Checklist

For the student

• Structure i.e. a logically organised, coherent

answer

• Evaluation i.e. the ability to weigh up different

arguments and form a supported view

• Balance i.e. not a one sided view

• Exemplification i.e. detailed use of relevant

examples

• QWC accuracy

Structure

• Does the essay have a clear, logical and well-defined structure? (e.g. is there an introduction, middle and a conclusion?)

• Does the introduction show a sound grasp of the question, provide key definitions and display a clear outline of what the essay is all about?

• Is the main part subdivided into sections or paragraphs?

• Does the conclusion draw together the various important points made in the main body of the essay?

Answering the question

•Does the essay clearly answer the question set?

Readability

• Is there evidence of a planned structure?

• Is it generally clear, readable and well presented?

•Does it make the reader want to read it?

• Is there a high level of the correct use of spelling, punctuation and grammar throughout?

Originality and thought

•Does the student demonstrate originality, thought and imagination such as using case studies not in the ‘text book’?

•Does the essay make you sit up and think, 'Wow! I've never thought of that before, good point!'

Argument and content

• Does the student sustain a well-reasoned and supported argument?

• Does the student use relevant and useful examples to illustrate the argument?

• Are all the main issues explored, evaluated and the conclusions made justified?

• Are there obvious signs of evaluation through the use of suitable connective words and phrases?

Referencing and sources*

• Are the sources of supporting material

properly acknowledged?

• Is the essay clearly and properly referenced

using a recognised system (e.g. Harvard or

footnotes)? (Edexcel Unit 4)

• Does the essay draw upon a wide range of

relevant literature?

• Does the author present material in a critical

manner?