You will become familiar with the term Assessment Objective. These are the criteria against which a student’s performance is measured across most exams.  Each assessment objective will vary slightly according to the subject in hand and their weighting in the overall value of the marks available will vary too.

Here is a link to the government’s explanation of Assessment Objectives.  Always have these objectives in mind as you follow the specification.

Please note – Always check the AOs for the specification you are working towards.  Anyone without teaching experience may find this difficult to interpret and it is worth asking an appropriately experienced professional tutor, marker or marking company, such as Mark My Papers staffed by official examiners, to mark your child’s work.  This will give you peace of mind and highlight any areas that could be improved.  

Mock Assessments using past papers or mock papers are a great addition to add to the schedule. If in exam years (Year 10-13), or you are taking your exams in the next 1-2 years, it is recommended to do mock papers in examination conditions, as closely replicated to the real exam as possible. This gives your child a chance to practise what the conditions will be like and see what they can realistically achieve in the allotted time. Tutors can mark and use these to predict grades or act as a guideline on which to build your child’s knowledge and exam technique. Mark My Papers are a company that help home educators access professional marking by official examiners and can be useful if assessing predicted grades, or if applying to colleges and universities.