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.
AS exams and certification for these specifications are available for the first time in May/June 2016 and then every May/June for the life of the specification.
A-level exams and certification for these specifications 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.
Our A-level assessments in Computer Science require students to demonstrate their ability to draw together their knowledge, skills and understanding from across the full course of study. This is evident in:
- Paper 1 assessment for extended response questions
- Paper 2 assessment for extended response questions
- non-exam assessment.
Paper 2 of our AS assessment includes extended response questions that allow students to demonstrate their ability to draw together knowledge, skills and understanding from across the full AS course of study.
Teacher's notes to accompany Paper 1 will be available on e-AQA:- for A-level on 1 September in the year of certification
- for AS on 1 March in the year of certification.
All materials are available in English only.
Aims
All specifications in computer science must build on the knowledge, understanding and skills established at key stage 4 and encourage students to develop a broad range of the knowledge, understanding and skills of computing, as a basis for progression into further learning and/or employment.
AS and A-level specifications in computer science must encourage students to develop:- an understanding of, and the ability to apply, the fundamental principles and concepts of computer science, including abstraction, decomposition, logic, algorithms and data representation
- the ability to analyse problems in computational terms through practical experience of solving such problems, including writing programs to do so
- the capacity for thinking creatively, innovatively, analytically, logically and critically
- the capacity to see relationships between different aspects of computer science
- mathematical skills related to:
- Boolean algebra
- comparison and complexity of algorithms (A-level only)
- number representations and bases.
- the ability to articulate the individual (moral), social (ethical), legal and cultural opportunities and risks of digital technology.
Assessment objectives
Assessment objectives (AOs) are set by Ofqual and are the same across all AS and A-level Computer Science specifications and all exam boards.
The exams will measure how students have achieved the following assessment objectives.
- AO1: Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the principles and concepts of computer science, including abstraction, logic, algorithms and data representation.
- AO2: Apply knowledge and understanding of the principles and concepts of computer science, including to analyse problems in computational terms.
- AO3: Design, program and evaluate computer systems that solve problems, making reasoned judgements about these and presenting conclusions.
Weighting of assessment objectives for AS Computer Science
| Assessment objectives (AOs) | Component weightings (approx %) | Overall weighting (approx %) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 | Paper 2 | ||
| AO1 | 7 | 28 | 35 |
| AO2 | 16 | 19 | 35 |
| AO3 | 27 | 3 | 30 |
| Overall weighting of components | 50 | 50 | 100 |
Weighting of assessment objectives for A-level Computer Science
| Assessment objectives (AO) | Component weightings (approx %) | Overall weighting (approx %) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 | Paper 2 | NEA | ||
| AO1 | 8 | 22 | 0 | 30 |
| AO2 | 12 | 16 | 2 | 30 |
| AO3 | 20 | 2 | 18 | 40 |
| Overall weighting of components | 40 | 40 | 20 | 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 | 75 | x1 | 75 |
| Paper 2 | 75 | x1 | 75 |
| Total scaled mark | 150 |
A-level
| Component | Maximum raw mark | Scaling factor | Maximum scaled mark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 | 100 | x1.5 | 150 |
| Paper 2 | 100 | x1.5 | 150 |
| NEA | 75 | x1 | 75 |
| Total scaled mark | 375 |
