Scheme of assessment
Find past papers and mark schemes, and specimen papers for new courses, on our website at aqa.org.uk/pastpapers
The AS specification is designed to be taken over one or two years with all assessments taken at the end of the course. The A-level specification is designed to be taken over two years with all assessments taken at the end of the course.
Assessments and certification for the AS specification are available for the first time in May/June 2016 and then every May/June for the life of the specification.
Assessments and certification for the A-level specification are available for the first time in May/June 2017 and then every May/June for the life of the specification.
These are linear qualifications. In order to achieve the award, students must complete all exams in May/June in a single year. All assessments must be taken in the same series.
All materials are available in English only.
AS
Our assessment in AS Business includes questions that allow students to demonstrate their ability to:
- draw together their knowledge, skills and understanding from across the full course of study
- provide extended responses.
For example the final question in Paper 2 is an extended response question which requires a student to draw together different areas of the specification. An extended response is evidence generated by a student which is of sufficient length to allow that student to demonstrate the ability to construct and develop a sustained line of reasoning which is coherent, relevant, substantiated and logically structured.
A-level
Our assessment in A-level Business includes questions that allow students to demonstrate their ability to:
- draw together their knowledge, skills and understanding from across the full course of study
- provide extended responses.
For example questions in Section C of Paper 1 are extended response questions which require a student to draw together different areas of the specification. An extended response is evidence generated by a student which is of sufficient length to allow that student to demonstrate the ability to construct and develop a sustained line of reasoning which is coherent, relevant, substantiated and logically structured.
Aims
Courses based on these specifications should encourage students to:
- develop an enthusiasm for studying business
- gain holistic understanding of business in a range of contexts
- develop a critical understanding of organisations and their ability to meet society’s needs and wants
- understand that business behaviour can be studied from a range of perspectives
- generate enterprising and creative approaches to business opportunities, problems and issues
- be aware of the ethical dilemmas and responsibilities faced by organisations and individuals
- acquire a range of relevant business and generic skills, including decision making, problem solving, the challenging of assumptions and critical analysis
- apply numerical skills in a range of business contexts.
Assessment objectives
Assessment objectives (AOs) are set by Ofqual and are the same across all AS and A-level Business2 specifications and all exam boards.
The exams will measure how well students have achieved the following assessment objectives.
- AO1: Demonstrate knowledge of terms, concepts, theories, methods and models to show an understanding of how individuals and organisations are affected by and respond to business issues
- AO2: Apply knowledge and understanding to various business contexts to show how individuals and organisations are affected by and respond to issues
- AO3: Analyse issues within business, showing an understanding of the impact on individuals and organisations of external and internal influences
- AO4: Evaluate quantitative and qualitative information to make informed judgements and propose evidence-based solutions to business issues.
Weighting of assessment objectives for AS Business
| Assessment objectives (AOs) | Component weightings (approx %) | Overall weighting (approx %) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 | Paper 2 | ||
| AO1 | 17-20 | 13-15 | 31-34 |
| AO2 | 13-15 | 10-13 | 24-27 |
| AO3 | 9-11 | 11-13 | 21-23 |
| AO4 | 6-9 | 11-14 | 19-21 |
| Overall weighting of components | 50 | 50 | 100 |
Weighting of assessment objectives for A-level Business
| Assessment objectives (AOs) | Component weightings (approx %) | Overall weighting (approx %) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 | Paper 2 | Paper 3 | ||
| AO1 | 9–11 | 6–8 | 5–8 | 22–25 |
| AO2 | 9–11 | 8–11 | 5–7 | 24–27 |
| AO3 | 5–8 | 8–11 | 9–12 | 25–28 |
| AO4 | 5–8 | 6–9 | 9–12 | 23–26 |
| Overall weighting of components | 33.3 | 33.3 | 33.3 | 100 |
Assessment weightings
The marks awarded on the papers will be scaled to meet the weighting of the components. Students' final marks will be calculated by adding together the scaled marks for each component. Grade boundaries will be set using this total scaled mark. The scaling and total scaled marks are shown in the table below.
AS
| Component | Maximum raw mark | Scaling factor | Maximum scaled mark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 | 80 | x1 | 80 |
| Paper 2 | 80 | x1 | 80 |
| Total scaled mark | 160 |
A-level
| Component | Maximum raw mark | Scaling factor | Maximum scaled mark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 | 100 | x1 | 100 |
| Paper 2 | 100 | x1 | 100 |
| Paper 3 | 100 | x1 | 100 |
| Total scaled mark | 300 |
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Teaching from 2023
Teaching from 2015
