[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-622849-105":59,"doc-detail-622849-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":123,"head_meta":125,"extra_data":127,"updated_unix":129},105,"en","aqa-gcse-science-determining-foundation-or-higher-tier","AQA GCSE Science - Determining Foundation or Higher Tier","","This guidance document from AQA assists educators in deciding the most appropriate examination tier—Foundation or Higher—for GCSE Science students, specifically focusing on those performing near the grade 5 threshold. It details key considerations such as cross-subject consistency, performance on common questions, student resilience, mathematical application, and proficiency in practical skills. The resource highlights differences in demand between tiers, explaining that the Higher tier contains no low-demand questions and requires greater autonomy, whereas the Foundation tier provides more scaffolding. By evaluating these factors, teachers can make informed decisions to ensure students are placed in the tier that best reflects their abilities and provides the most suitable academic challenge for their final examination results.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":20,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/exam/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/aqa-gcse-science-determining-foundation-or-higher-tier/622849/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/aqa-gcse-science-determining-foundation-or-higher-tier/622849.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"A glass of water","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-04","2026-10-20",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":34},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"Why is the choice of tier particularly important for students aiming for a grade 5?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"For students at the grade 5 level, the choice is less clear-cut compared to others, necessitating a careful evaluation of their consistency, mathematical skills, and resilience under exam pressure to determine the most suitable tier.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"What is the difference in question demand between Foundation and Higher tiers?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"The Foundation tier includes a range of demands, while the Higher tier contains no low-demand questions and offers less scaffolding, particularly in physics formulas, making it a more challenging environment.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"How do common questions affect the choice of tier?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"Common questions, which appear in both tiers and are set at a standard demand level, allow teachers to assess how well a student performs consistently across different levels of paper difficulty.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},622849,1792672560,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":19,"category_name":20,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":34,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":8,"language":139,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":143,"read_time":81,"preview_page_count":4},962090760832,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_155a257f0dc6eb9ab79c44ca47cae57d","GCSE science grade 5 students: Foundation or Higher – what’s best?  \nFor many students the choice of tier is relatively straightforward. However, for potential grade 5 students the choice may be less clear-cut. A number of factors will affect a student’s performance.  \nThe level of demand of the questions in each tier will determine the suitability for each indivdual.  \nFOUNDAT ION TIER  \nH IGHER TIER  \n60%  \nEquivalent to 252 marks  \nTrilogy combined  \n40%  \nEquivalent to 168 marks  \nTrilogy combined  \n60%  \nEquivalent to 252 marks  \nTrilogy combined  \nHigh demand  \nStandard demand  \nLow demand  \n30% of the marks are common between tiers.  \nThese are standard demand.  \nThere are no low demand questions on the Higher tier.  \nThe grades available on each tier have changed from the legacy papers.  \nThe Foundation tier reaches a grade 5 (equivalent to the bottom end of a grade B on the legacy specifications) .  \n| Legacy GCSE science | Current GCSE science |\n| --- | --- |\n| Foundation Higher | Foundation Higher |\n\nA*  \nA  \n9  \n8  \n7  \n\n| B |  |\n| --- | --- |\n| C | C |\n| D | D |\n| E\u003Cbr>F\u003Cbr>G | (E) |\n| U | U |\n\n\n| 6 |  |\n| --- | --- |\n| 5 | 5 |\n| 4 | 4 |\n| 3\u003Cbr>2\u003Cbr>1 | (3) |\n| U | U |\n\nThe shaded area denotes the tier overlap grades available on the current vs legacy GCSE sciences.  \nThe tier overlap grades are at a higher level of demand than on the legacy specifications.  \nCopyright © 2018 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.","cbCaiuiIik0XB6AG","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiuiIik0XB6AG","pdf",101453,"English","# Determining Tier Suitability\n## Key Considerations\n## Tier Demand and Structure\n## Grade Comparison","[{\"question\":\"Why is the choice of tier particularly important for students aiming for a grade 5?\",\"answer\":\"For students at the grade 5 level, the choice is less clear-cut compared to others, necessitating a careful evaluation of their consistency, mathematical skills, and resilience under exam pressure to determine the most suitable tier.\"},{\"question\":\"What is the difference in question demand between Foundation and Higher tiers?\",\"answer\":\"The Foundation tier includes a range of demands, while the Higher tier contains no low-demand questions and offers less scaffolding, particularly in physics formulas, making it a more challenging environment.\"},{\"question\":\"How do common questions affect the choice of tier?\",\"answer\":\"Common questions, which appear in both tiers and are set at a standard demand level, allow teachers to assess how well a student performs consistently across different levels of paper difficulty.\"}]","AQA GCSE Science - Determining Foundation or Higher Tier | PDF",1792467192]