Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency

The A level history materials contain example extracts of candidates' examination scripts taken from all five awarding bodies. The three most common types of AS and A2 history examination tasks have been included at both the E/U and A/B grade boundaries: essay questions, structured questions and source-based questions.

The commentary for each example sets out what was expected of candidates, how the examination task relates to the assessment requirements for the specification component or unit as a whole, and detailed observations on the candidate's performance, which are linked to the assessment objectives for A level history.

Making sense of the materials

Awarding examination grades is a complex process. The main function of awarding meetings is to recommend grade boundaries. This involves identifying the lowest mark at which a candidate's performance on a particular paper is worth an A rather than a B, and the lowest mark at which a candidate's performance is worth an E rather than a U. Examiners do this by looking closely at a sample of scripts with marks near where each boundary is likely to be. They have to judge which are worthy of an A (or an E) and which are not. It is clearly important that the judgements they make are consistent with previous examinations and between awarding bodies. To do this, examiners use a variety of materials, including archive scripts from previous examinations, statistical evidence, these new performance descriptions and exemplification materials and, above all, their shared experience and judgement.

These new materials support examiners in this important process. They provide an indication of the responses found at each grade boundary in the subject in relation to specific assessment objectives.

However, materials like these do not provide the full picture. Different candidates reach a particular mark by different routes. One candidate might get similar marks in all the questions on a paper and, say, reach an E grade. Another candidate in the same examination might score very poorly on most questions, but do very well on only one or two questions, and still reach the same mark.

Similarly, the knowledge, skills and understanding illustrated in a particular performance description or example are only samples. They show the kind of responses required, but other knowledge, skills and understanding may also be found at the grade boundary. The details in the samples should not been seen as requirements for the grade nor as a complete list of what candidates will show.

It is also worth bearing in mind that while a candidate may give an answer that is similar to one in the exemplar material, this single answer will not determine the candidate's result for the paper. The candidate's other answers may be better or worse.