Effective Examination Strategies - A matter of carts and horses

Although the 2020 and 2021 A Level examination had been displaced, the next ‘for real’ terminal assessments now being the Summer 2022 series, there is – as they say – no time like the present for making a start on embedding in working practices the key skills for ensuring examination success.

There are still issues to be resolved – the most pressing being how we make up the lost ground of months of work for the 2022 cohort. There has been some suggestion that QCA may direct exam boards to outline a ‘reduced’ specification or a restricted number of tasks based on the Set Products, possibly even reducing the number of Set Products to be covered. How this would work when centres do not study the same product at the same time, I leave to those in the position to make such decisions.

What we do know, is that terminal examination assessment there will be.

Always double check your exam board advice for specific updates to the Summer 2022 assessments

AQA

• AQA Overview Page
AQA Youtube explanation of changes to summer exams

Eduqas

• Eduqas Overview Page
• Eduqas FAQ

OCR

• OCR Overview page
• OCR Youtube explanation of changes to summer exams

Looking for all subject simple summer 2022 overview - Click Here

I was commissioned to author and present online INSET material for AQA on Effective Examination Preparation for the 2020s Series – something that went ahead despite there being no examination in 2020 or 2021. The reason being that AQA consider the material to possess validity and relevance beyond 2020, applying to all future A Level Media examination. As such, I thought it might be useful to share some of those ideas/strategies I see applying across all three boards. Having authored the Edusites A Level lessons for the AQA, EDUQAS and OCR specifications involving writing some 700 distinct lessons, I’m probably in an ideal position to tie in approaches that are consistent across all three of the examination series.

Barry Rainsford is a freelance writer. As well as 25 years’ experience as a Senior Examiner he has written training material for all three examination boards at Advanced and GCSE level and worked as Media Education advisor to educational charities.