Assessment - A-Levels Maths
Assessment objectives (AOs) are set by Ofqual and are the same across all A-level Mathematics specifications and all exam boards.
The exams will measure how students have achieved the following assessment objectives.
AO1: Use and apply standard techniques
Students should be able to:
- select and correctly carry out routine procedures
- accurately recall facts, terminology and definitions
AO2: Reason, interpret and communicate mathematically
Students should be able to:
- construct rigorous mathematical arguments (including proofs)
- make deductions and inferences
- assess the validity of mathematical arguments
- explain their reasoning
- use mathematical language and notation correctly
- Where questions/tasks targeting this assessment objective will also credit students for the ability to ‘use and apply standard techniques’ (AO1) and/or to ‘solve problems within mathematics and in other contexts’ (AO3), an appropriate proportion of the marks for the question/task must be attributed to the corresponding assessment objective(s).
AO3: Solve problems within mathematics and in other contexts
Students should be able to:
- translate problems in mathematical and non-mathematical contexts into mathematical processes
- interpret solutions to problems in their original context, and, where appropriate, evaluate their accuracy and limitations
- translate situations in context into mathematical models
- use mathematical models
- evaluate the outcomes of modelling in context, recognise the limitations of models and, where appropriate, explain how to refine them
- Where questions/tasks targeting this assessment objective will also credit students for the ability to ‘use and apply standard techniques’ (AO1) and/or to ‘reason, interpret and communicate mathematically’ (AO2), an appropriate proportion of the marks for the question/task must be attributed to the corresponding assessment objective(s).
Assessment objective weightings for A-level Mathematics
| Assessment objectives (AOs) | Component weightings (approx %) | Overall weighting (approx %) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 | Paper 2 | Paper 3 | ||
| AO1 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 |
| AO2 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 |
| AO3 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 |
| Overall weighting of components | 33⅓ | 33⅓ | 33⅓ | 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.
| 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 |
Assessments
Paper 1
| Section | Details |
|---|---|
| What's assessed | Any content from: • A: Proof • B: Algebra and functions • C: Coordinate geometry • D: Sequences and series • E: Trigonometry • F: Exponentials and logarithms • G: Differentiation • H: Integration • I: Numerical methods |
| How it's assessed | • Written exam: 2 hours • 100 marks • 33⅓% of A-level |
| Questions | A mix of question styles, from short, single-mark questions to multi-step problems. |
Paper 2
| Section | Details |
|---|---|
| What's assessed | Any content from Paper 1 and content from: • J: Vectors • P: Quantities and units in mechanics • Q: Kinematics • R: Forces and Newton’s laws • S: Moments |
| How it's assessed | • Written exam: 2 hours • 100 marks • 33⅓% of A-level |
| Questions | A mix of question styles, from short, single-mark questions to multi-step problems. |
Paper 3
| Section | Details |
|---|---|
| What's assessed | Any content from Paper 1 and content from: • K: Statistical sampling • L: Data presentation and interpretation • M: Probability • N: Statistical distributions • O: Statistical hypothesis testing |
| How it's assessed | • Written exam: 2 hours • 100 marks • 33⅓% of A-level |
| Questions | A mix of question styles, from short, single-mark questions to multi-step problems. |