June 2012 Science in Society

General advice

Students should:

• read all instructions on the front cover and at the start of each section of the question paper
• read each question carefully before responding, especially where there are optional question(s)
• remember that questions can appear on all pages of a question paper, including the final page.

Combined question paper answer books

Students should look at the number of marks and the line space allocated to each question and write answers of an appropriate length.

If a student needs more space to answer a question, they must:
either use the white space immediately beneath the lined answer space and before the start of the next question
or ask for an AQA four-page Supplementary answer book.

They should not:

• use the answer space for a different question
• write in the margin
• respond elsewhere in the answer book.

Separate answer books and the two-digit numbering system

Students worked well with the two-digit numbering system and separate answer books in 2011 exams; thank you for ensuring that the guidance was applied successfully. We have updated our guides for students, teachers and exams officers / invigilators to reflect the general advice given above.

A reminder: question paper style and marking answers on screen
Exams with separate question papers and answer books (unconstrained answer books) will use:

• our simplified, two-digit question numbering system
• answer books with spaces for students to write the two-digit question numbers.

For additional guidance see:

• Teacher Guide (revised)
• Exams officer and invigilator Guide (revised)
• Student Guide (revised)
• Question papers and mark schemes:
  • Summer 2011 materials are available to schools / colleges in the Secure Key Materials area of e-AQA
  • Specimen materials are available from the subject pages of aqa.org.uk
• Examples of students' work:
  • Good practice
  • Areas for improvement
• AQA Research team papers: Marking answers on screen
  • Reliability of on-screen marking of essays
  • A concurrent approach to estimating the reliability of electronic marking of long form answers
  • Using the Think Aloud Method to investigate electronic marking of long form answers
  • The impact of e-marking on Enquiries After Results 2006/2007
  • The impact of e-marking on Enquiries After Results 2005/2006
  New AQA Numbering System
  • Nested Numbering

  Archive

  • Exams Officer questionnaire feedback
  • Exams Officer questionnaire

Teacher Online Standardisation

The Teacher Online Standardisation system is now live.

How to use online standardisation:

1. Log in to e-AQA with your personal e-AQA login.
2. Select 'Teacher online standardisation' from the list of services in e-AQA.
3. Select your subject in the online standardisation system.

Why online standardisation?

• Access for all teachers - With online standardisation, all teachers can go online to see the marking advice from the Principal Moderator at a time that suits them.
• Access for all schools - All centres taking the AQA Science in Society specification can participate.
• Examples of work marked by the Principal Moderator - See pieces of candidate work marked by the Principal Moderator.
• Mark the work yourself online and see how you compare with the standard set by the Principal.
• This service provides more detailed information to help you, whilst reducing the time teachers spend away from school.

Secure Key Materials

Secure Key Materials is a new e-AQA service which replaces Recent Exam Materials from 1 September. It provides teachers and Exams Officers with exclusive access to a bank of exam-related material that is:

• secure
• easy to navigate
• quick to use
• intuitive, based on the design of our website.

Please read our new leaflet and look at the following demo to find out more about this new service.

The first 2010/2011 series-related documentation provided on the Secure Key Materials will be for the GCSE and GCE Science. Please note that the 2010/2011 ISA materials will be posted on the site (between 1 – 10 September) and not circulated on a CD as in previous years.

To obtain an e-AQA account and access to Secure Key Materials, please register at e-AQA. For more information about the materials published on Secure Key Materials, please don't hesitate to contact the Subject team.