Autumn Term A-level update - CASH - Cornwall Association

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Autumn Term A-level update

Hannah Rowe – Curriculum Support Manager, Geography

What I will cover in this session:

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• Entries A-level Geography nationally

• Key data

• The NEA

• Response to the papers

• AQA assessment process – reflecting on outcomes

• Areas where students performed well

• Areas which can be developed

• If anyone is interested, I can do a 15 minute run through of the key GCSE

issues at the end

2

Entries for AS and A-level Geography

3 Copyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.

AS Level

2,500 entries

Decreased AQA entries by approx. 3500 compared to 2017

A-level

12,564 entries(market leader)

Overall decline in Geography entries nationally of -11.3%

Female 50.73%

Male 49.27%

Grade boundaries


Cumulative outcomes


A-level Data

Highest marks:

➢ Paper 1 116

➢ Paper 2 115

➢ NEA 60

Paper 1 Mean raw mark 62.5 SD 15.6

Paper 2 Mean raw mark 67.7 SD 17.7

NEA Mean raw mark 39.2 SD 10.5

Total Mean raw mark 165.7 SD 37.1


A-level Data

Unit Average percentage

Water and carbon cycles 54

Hot desert systems and landscapes 51

Coastal systems and landscapes 47

Glacial systems and landscapes 53

Hazards 53

Ecosystems under stress 54


A-level Data

Unit Average percentage

Global systems and global

governance

54

Changing places 53

Contemporary Urban

Environments

50

Population and the environment 53

Resource security 53


The NEA

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Key points for centres

• Evaluative titles tended to work best, especially where they were clearly

linked to a student’s passion for a certain topic.

• CRF teacher comments can’t be too specific – general feedback must be

used. This box should be utilised – where it wasn’t this raised questions as

to whether the feedback had come in another form, or whether students

lacked support.

• The Centre Declaration Sheet should accompany the scripts submitted

for moderation, signed by all teachers involved in the assessment of the

work. In many cases this was not submitted.

• A number of titles were too broad or ambitious



• From various fieldwork logs it is evident that a minority of students spent

only a limited time in the field, perhaps just a few hours, collecting primary

data… the number of methods for data capture is far less important than

the compilation of a body of useful and relevant information targeted at the

enquiry.

• With methodology and presentation, the crucial aspect is the

appropriateness of the techniques used as opposed to a rigid number of

qualitative and quantitative skills.



• It was also found that students who substantially exceeded the word

guidance sometimes disadvantaged themselves in other ways. For

example, some wrote at great length on aspects of the background of the

study area that had no bearing on the issue being investigated or

alternatively wrote an extended and poorly focused literature review.

• Amongst the better scripts there was evidence of a well-designed planning

phase with a selected range of techniques linked to the aims and focus,

explanation and understanding of sampling with justification of number of

sites and surveys, and choice of suitable methods that made a significant

contribution and were integrated into the task and followed up in all

sections. The stronger students carefully selected a range of appropriate

methods, discussed and justified sampling techniques fully and provided

details of timings, sample size and frequencies.


Responses to the new AQA papers


Positives:

• Less resource heavy; resources had less information than SAMs

• Live papers more accessible than SAMs (particularly beneficial to lower

ability students – some SAMs questions they couldn’t get anything out of

the question) Clearer wording. Less quotes

• Cross unit question – nice to define exogenous (good for weaker

students). Good coverage of the spec

Responses to the new AQA papers


Negatives:

• More space needed to write answers

• Keep the figure information with the figure (when the figure is in an insert)

• Some comparability of optional topics raised (although this didn’t manifest

itself in the marking).

• Paper layout could be clearer – hard to spot where optional questions start

• Barrier beaches question

Areas of strength on the summer papers


• AO2 (although remember to form a view!)

• Links between units

• 9 mark questions

• 20 mark questions – especially performed well when case studies are used

to effect (GSGG) and well planned. On both papers, the average score is

in Level 3.

Paper 1 Mean 10.59 SD 19.87% L4 16.51%

Paper 2 Mean 10.44 SD 22.59% L4 20.33%

Areas for development


Knowing the theory well

• This showed up as an issue in a number of types of questions as an issue – MCQs, 4 mark questions (average mark of 0.93 on barrier beaches!), 9 mark questions (eg How far do you agree that secondary impacts of volcanic eruptions present a greater long-term threat to people than primary impacts? Students struggled to define primary/secondary).

• It was also evident in 20 markers – particularly with P1 A3.4 “Assess the relative importance of weathering and erosion in the development of coastal landscapes“ – many students failed to define weathering or show an understanding of what this is within their answers (which clearly had an impact on the overall response). It also became apparent from Twitter that students were not aware that a hazard was …


Knowing the theory well

• Urban regeneration policies were also an area students struggled to define (‘Britain’s urban regeneration policies since 1979 have failed to address problems of economic inequality and social segregation. The gap between the richest and the poorest urban residents has widened.’ To what extent do you agree with this statement?) and engage with, despite being a core element of the unit “This was mainly due to their not evidencing what urban regeneration policies were. Many students simply referred to generic ideas such as affordable housing or minimum wage rather than actual regeneration policies”. This 20 mark questions yielded the lowest average mark (9.19) of all.


4 mark questions

• Students define when they should explain – meaning that students are generally limited to two marks.


This not what is the cryosphere. Though for lower ability

students this might provide a way for students to gain some

credit.

4 mark questions


• Clear difference between areas students were more confident with (GSGG

– global commons average mark 2.48), compared with barrier beaches

(average mark 0.93!). Expect questions on any parts of the spec – not just

the ‘easier’ bits.

• Definition tests might help develop this area.


4 mark questions

6 mark analyse (AO3) questions

Don’t describe – analyse. Data manipulation can be a clear way to analyse, as can looking at spatial variations etc.

Don’t explain – no credit for this

Linking within and between data –important L2 element

Level 2 (4 – 6 marks)

AO3 – Clear analysis of the quantitative evidence provided, which makes appropriate use of data in support. Clear connection(s) between different aspects of the data and evidence.


Use of scales

Poor spatial analysis 3.5 “Some students disappointingly confused compass directions such as east and west”. 4.5 “Geographical descriptions were frequently poor in this question with many students referring to ‘under’ and ‘above’ the tropics”

Exemplar 6 mark ‘analyse’ response

Analyse the data shown in Figure 3a and Figure 3b.


Figure 3b demonstrates that the closer you are to the Westminster

borough, the higher the income of the residents. However, 3a illustrates

that this does not necessarily reflect a happier quality of life. For example,

Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea, which typically have higher

average incomes differ substantially in well-being rates across the

borough. Despite their close proximity, Westminster rates itself as

unhappy and Chelsea represents itself as very happy.

The qualitative data (in A) and quantitative data (in B) do not always have

a direct relationship. Instead, there appears to be some correlation

between less wealth and an increased well-being, such Newham rating

itself as relatively happy despite figure B demonstrating it has a low

average income (£22,000) compared to Camden (£55,000). Overall, there

is not a significant pattern between higher wealth and higher happiness

and there is no uniform trend. For example, figure A shows that the two

least happy (Islington and Lambeth) actually have comparatively more

wealth than Hackney which rates itself as slightly happier.


Exemplar 6 mark ‘analyse’ response

6 mark ‘and your own knowledge’ (AO1/2) questions

These were also very descriptive of the resource, which gained no credit as the marks here are awarded for AO1 and AO2. Students need to add something new to the resource, by adding their own understanding. For instance, in Q2.3 The resource makes no mention of these being yardangs, thus by bringing this information to the response, students have clearly added AO1 information. AO2 would then use the information provided and their own knowledge to assess the role played by wind.




“In text-based resources, students need to identify the relevant information and then utilise it to address the question. Many students simply copied out large sections of the text and attempted to evaluate. These responses tended to score at the lower end of the mark range as AO1 was very limited. Better responses evaluated different strategies and compared them to the information in Figure 8. The best answers evaluated the scheme in Figure 8 and then compared this with other strategies in terms of the likely success in addressing food security”.




Figure 2 illustrates that the Middle East is the greatest producer of oil, reflecting

that the regional countries such as Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia form the

major suppliers of oil in the OPEC group. However, to a large extent this pattern

significantly differs from the ‘Banana Trade’ which is the 5th most valued

commodity. For example, the biggest producers are the ACP countries (such as

the Windward Island in which ¼ of all exports are bananas). In comparison, the oil

trade is apparently so minimal with the Caribbean that it is not shown in Figure 2.

Nevertheless, America is an important trading partner for both oil and bananas,

demonstrated by Chiquita (a South American banana company) donating to the

Clinton administration to advocate against the Lome convention which

disadvantaged South American plantations. To some extent, there is a similarity

between the consumers of both oil and bananas. For example, the Asia Pacific is a

major importer of both oil (demonstrated by 21.3 barrels in figure 2) and bananas.

Overall, the trade flows are substantially different between bananas and oil

reflecting that the natural resource is not found in the Caribbean or South America

(where 80% sold worldwide to 400 million consumers) are exported from.

Nevertheless, to a large extent both Figure 2 and the banana trade demonstrate,

through trading on an international platform with multiple regions, that there is a

global market for products which is not limited by spatial proximity.


AO1 – yellow AO2 - green

Figure 2 illustrates that the Middle East is the greatest producer of oil, reflecting

that the regional countries such as Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia form the

major suppliers of oil in the OPEC group. However, to a large extent this pattern

significantly differs from the ‘Banana Trade’ which is the 5th most valued

commodity. For example, the biggest producers are the ACP countries (such as

the Windward Island in which ¼ of all exports are bananas). In comparison, the oil

trade is apparently so minimal with the Caribbean that it is not shown in Figure 2.

Nevertheless, America is an important trading partner for both oil and bananas,

demonstrated by Chiquita (a South American banana company) donating to the

Clinton administration to advocate against the Lome convention which

disadvantaged South American plantations. To some extent, there is a similarity

between the consumers of both oil and bananas. For example, the Asia Pacific is a

major importer of both oil (demonstrated by 21.3 barrels in figure 2) and bananas.

Overall, the trade flows are substantially different between bananas and oil

reflecting that the natural resource is not found in the Caribbean or South America

(where 80% sold worldwide to 400 million consumers) are exported from.

Nevertheless, to a large extent both Figure 2 and the banana trade demonstrate,

through trading on an international platform with multiple regions, that there is a

global market for products which is not limited by spatial proximity.


Connections within units – theory and case studies

In many of the physical geography 20 mark questions, the examiner’s report references that students could make better use of case studies to support their responses. 2.4 “Incorporating clear and accurate place reference remains an issue for many students and did hold some back from accessing full credit”, 3.4 “Place reference and detailed support was generally not strong, though case studies such as Holderness did emerge”.

Assess the relative importance of weathering and erosion in the development of coastal landscapes.



3.1.3.6 Case studies

Case study(ies) of coastal environment(s) at a local scale to illustrate and analyse fundamental coastal processes, their landscape outcomes as set out above and engage with field data and challenges represented in their sustainable management.

20 mark questions will require students to connect within a unit – so here they apply their theoretical understanding of weathering and erosion to locations. This UK local scale case study would clearly encourage students to study this.



• Looking again at the hazard question “With reference to a multi-hazardous environment that you have studied, assess the view that the underlying cause(s) leading to the hazards is human activity rather than physical factors”, here this clearly links the background section 3.1.5.1 ‘The concept of a hazard in a geographical context’ with the 3.1.5.7 Case studies section on ‘case study of a multi-hazardous environment’.

• Students need to be aware of how these questions look to make connections within units.


Question elements

• One – “with reference to one” - no credit if you cover more than one (strongest will be credited)

• Such as - ‘The changing character of a place over time is more effectively represented by statistical and cartographical sources than artistic sources such aspainting, poetry and photography.’ With reference to either your local or distant place, critically assess the extent to which you agree with this statement.

• “It is also worth noting that where the phrase ‘such as’ is used it means just that. Students were not required to use painting, photography and poetry and those who realised this often did much better than those who felt the need to include all three”.

• Balance – 4.4 ‘Warming taking place in fragile cold environments is set to generate unprecedented impacts affecting both people and the physical environment.’ To what extent do you agree with this view? “Students tended to consider more human impacts in cold environments… The physical aspect this question came through less strongly in general terms”.


Question elements

• 4.8 ‘The role of international agencies and NGOs in combating disease will increasingly need to focus on the health impacts resulting from global environmental change.’ To what extent do you agree with this statement? “Students were generally able to link diseases such as malaria to global environmental change. However, few students were able to discuss the impact or role of NGOs in preventing the disease from spreading. Very few considered the role of international agencies”.

• To what extent - For example, they should be encouraged to respond to ‘to what extent’ by actually stating the extent to which they agree or disagree with the statement. Many students just simply stated that ‘I agree to an extent’, a rather meaningless phrase and demonstrating a lack of clear thought.


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Thank you –Questions?

Documents

Autumn Term A-level update - CASH - Cornwall Association