After a GCSE maths question involving a bag of sweets which was labelled as too difficult, students are now praising their exam board saying a chemistry paper they sat on Tuesday was too easy.
AQA has apologised after the phrasing of one GCSE chemistry question gave away the answer to a previous one.
The paper asked candidates to “fill in the gap” describing the components of limestone, but described those components in the introduction to a later question.
2a) complete the blank: i) limestone is mostly calcium_______ --- 5b) limestone is made of mostly calcium carbonate Okay #aqachemistry
— emi✨ (@embly99) June 9, 2015
question 2a. the main compound of limestone is calcium ... question 5b. calcium carbonate is the main compound of limestone #aqachemistry
— ally p✨ (@ItsAliceHere) June 9, 2015
The exam board said the error had been spotted, but a decision had been taken to allow the exam to go ahead. “As part of our ongoing quality control checks we noticed that an answer to a one-mark question was given in a longer question later on in the paper,” a spokesperson said. “This shouldn’t have happened, and we’re sorry it did.”
“As the papers had already been sent out to schools and colleges, we took the view (and informed our regulator, Ofqual) that it was better to leave both questions in than cause unnecessary stress and confusion to students right at the start of the exam.”
AQA said the error would not affect GCSE results. “We’ll make sure it doesn’t affect students’ grades, but schools can get in touch if they have concerns.”
Students also claimed their paper contained a question on emulsification that was almost identical to one on a paper from 2013.
When you get exactly the same question from 2013, you be like "examiners are sometimes really kind" #aqachemistry pic.twitter.com/NpM46nB9Ez
— Ifrah Zareen (@Bonheur_fraises) June 9, 2015
AQA said the questions were not identical though they may “appear very similar”. This year’s question was more challenging than two years ago, the spokesperson said, and added: “We’re required to cover all of the chemistry specification on a cyclic basis and must inevitably revisit all parts of the specification within a reasonably short period of time.”
The hashtag #aqachemistry was the top Twitter trend on Tuesday afternoon as pupils revelled in an “easy” paper. Several did express concern, however, that grade boundaries would be raised in order to compensate for a simpler paper.
me to aqa for including the filling in the blank questions on limestone #aqachemistry pic.twitter.com/YCWxx9sqOl
— ellie (@zarryho) June 9, 2015
AQA giving us them limestone questions. #AQAChemistry pic.twitter.com/XzsNtVrDjW
— Patbingsu (@ayyshakks) June 9, 2015
trying to look at how high the grade boundaries will be like #aqachemistry pic.twitter.com/yxne67T8TO
— zena (@davidtennunt) June 9, 2015
When you realise that the A* grade boundary for #aqachemistry will be 101% pic.twitter.com/vitP5ViE2o
— Chris. (@ChrisSaysIt) June 9, 2015
Last week, pupils sitting the maths exam from a different board, Edexcel, complained the paper was too difficult, especially a question about the probability of a girl eating two orange sweets from a bag.
A spokesperson for the board said the apparent difficulty or ease of a paper is taken into account. “In the event that any one paper turns out to be more or, indeed, less challenging than usual, our marking and grading process always ensures students are awarded the grades they deserve,” Edexcel said.
