Assessment - GCSE Maths
Assessment Objectives
Assessment objectives (AOs) are set by Ofqual and are the same across all GCSE Mathematics specifications and all exam boards.
The exams will assess the following AOs in the context of the content set out in the Subject content section.
AO1: Use and apply standard techniques
Students should be able to:
- accurately recall facts, terminology and definitions
- use and interpret notation correctly
- accurately carry out routine procedures or set tasks requiring multi-step solutions
AO2: Reason, interpret and communicate mathematically
Students should be able to:
- make deductions, inferences and draw conclusions from mathematical information
- construct chains of reasoning to achieve a given result
- interpret and communicate information accurately
- present arguments and proofs
- assess the validity of an argument and critically evaluate a given way of presenting information
AO3: Solve problems within mathematics and in other contexts
Students should be able to:
- translate problems in mathematical or non-mathematical contexts into a process or a series of mathematical processes
- make and use connections between different parts of mathematics
- interpret results in the context of the given problem
- evaluate methods used and results obtained
- evaluate solutions to identify how they may have been affected by assumptions made
Weighting of Assessment Objectives
Foundation Tier
| Assessment objectives (AOs) | Component weightings (approx %) | Overall weighting (approx %) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 | Paper 2 | Paper 3 | ||
| AO1 | 40–60 | 40–60 | 40–60 | 50 |
| AO2 | 15–35 | 15–35 | 15–35 | 25 |
| AO3 | 15–35 | 15–35 | 15–35 | 25 |
| Overall weighting of components | 33⅓ | 33⅓ | 33⅓ | 100 |
Higher Tier
| Assessment objectives (AOs) | Component weightings (approx %) | Overall weighting (approx %) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 | Paper 2 | Paper 3 | ||
| AO1 | 30–50 | 30–50 | 30–50 | 40 |
| AO2 | 20–40 | 20–40 | 20–40 | 30 |
| AO3 | 20–40 | 20–40 | 20–40 | 30 |
| 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 | 80 | x1 | 80 |
| Paper 2 | 80 | x1 | 80 |
| Paper 3 | 80 | x1 | 80 |
| Total scaled mark: | 240 |