A Level Maths and Further Maths: improving the student experience in our exams
31 March 2025
Amy Jones, Maths Subject Advisor
As we approach the revision period, many students and teachers will be preparing for upcoming A Level exams. In this blog, I’ll be looking at what we have been doing to improve the student experience in our exams for A Level Maths A and B and Further Maths A and B.
Progress so far
Sitting A Level exams can be a stressful undertaking, and we aim to deliver a positive exam experience for students of all abilities. To us, this means giving every student the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learnt over the past two years. A key goal with our assessment is providing a satisfactory gradient of demand, so that every learner can access and attempt questions early in the paper, whilst also stretching high attainers towards the end.
There have been some good indicators of improvement across our qualifications. For example, in last year’s A Level Further Maths A (H245) series, omit rate data showed that overall, students attempted a higher proportion of the questions than in prior exam series.
Each question item has an omit rate, which is the proportion of students who have not meaningfully attempted the question item. It is important to be able to tell the difference between those who have not attempted the question, and those who have attempted the question and scored 0. Notably, omit rates went down at the beginning of the papers, indicating that our assessments are becoming more accessible from the start, allowing students to build their confidence early in the paper. This was reflected in some positive feedback from teachers and students on the exam series last year.
Accessibility
At OCR, accessibility is a key focus – we try to ensure all our assessments enable students to show what they know, understand, and can do without unnecessary barriers. You can read more about our approach to accessibility in our blog The importance of accessibility. These considerations contribute to a positive student experience.
Here are some examples of areas that we are working on, and how they can benefit students.
- We are improving the formatting and layout of the question paper. By including more white space between questions in the question booklets, the text becomes easier to read and understand. The placement of diagrams, images and figures are formatted to allow students to connect the pieces of information that they need to.
- We avoid setting questions in context unless there is a reason to do so which relates to the assessment construct, e.g. modelling, problem solving, or reasoning in context. We continue to evaluate the contexts used, aiming to avoid those that could be unfamiliar to candidates, adding unnecessary confusion to what they need to do.
- We continue to review the language used in our question papers to ensure the wording of questions is clear, concise and consistent. This includes removing extraneous information and using plain English to convey information.
- Our command word system is well documented. We have a summary poster, along with more information, including examples, in our specifications. These command words are applied consistently across all our A Level Maths and Further Maths qualifications. We recently provided more clarity on them in a series of blogs spotlighting the command words we most often receive queries about, for example “detailed reasoning”.
Diagrams in answer booklets
In 2024, we made some changes to the printed answer booklets for Y543 Mechanics of A Level Further Mathematics A (H245). This question paper often features complex diagrams that students will sometimes work on within the question booklet. As the question booklets are not marked, they could have potentially missed out on method marks. We selectively included diagrams from the question paper and blank space in the answer booklets to prompt students to annotate on and draw diagrams when modelling mechanics problems.
The above response to Q4(d) of 2024’s paper shows a candidate making use of the included diagram to great effect. Providing diagrams in the answer booklet has reduced the time spent and minimised the number of errors introduced from copying diagrams from the question booklet, whilst also encouraging students to annotate as they work through a problem.
This response above to Q6(a) of 2024’s paper shows how the same candidate used blank space to communicate their thought process. Working shown in diagrams is included when responses are marked, so students have more opportunities to gain marks.
The examiners’ report for this paper was very positive about the use of diagrams from candidates. For Q8(b), which included a complex diagram in the answer booklet, examiners stated that “Many candidates were able to answer this question effectively and efficiently, supported by a clear diagram with labelled tensions and weights.”.
In the upcoming exam series for all our A Level Maths and Further Maths qualifications, we intend to include diagrams, tables, or blank space in the answer booklets when we think it will aid in answering a question item.
The exam feedback cycle
Every year, we collate teacher and student feedback for each of our exams. We run a post-exam survey throughout the exam period giving teachers plenty of time to share the experiences of their students and flag any concerns they may have. We also go to events and schools during and following the exam series to listen and speak to teachers directly about our assessments.
Detailed qualitative feedback that we receive from teachers is analysed alongside candidate performance data for each question item with input from our assessment experts to inform improvements to future question setting. So, we encourage all teachers to have their say – look out for this year’s post exam survey!
Stay connected
Don’t forget to join us for our Teacher Network events. If you have any questions, you can email us at maths@ocr.org.uk, call us on 01223 553998 or message us on X @OCR_Maths. You can also sign up for monthly email updates to receive information about resources and support.
If you are considering teaching any of our qualifications, use our online form to let us know, so that we can help you with more information.
About the author
Amy (previously Amy Dai) joined OCR in 2023 after teaching for five years in both state and independent schools. She provides support across all the OCR Maths qualifications, but with a focus on GCSE, A Level Maths and Further Maths. She graduated from the University of York with a degree in Mathematics and Economics before gaining a PGCE in Secondary Mathematics and an MA in Education.
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