GCSE Maths - Virtual communities 2020 - Autumn 2020 - Overarching topic coverage and performance

Oct 20, 2026

Uploaded by acoobca

An autumn 2020 GCSE Maths report from AQA focuses on overarching topic coverage and performance across assessment tiers. It details Ofqual-prescribed topic area weightings for foundation and higher tiers, then compares mean cohort facility coverage versus performance for June 2017–2019 combined. The report further examines topic performance by grade, highlighting differences in mean cohort performance at selected grades and mapping those differences to specific topic areas and sub-topics.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages15

Reading Time38 min

AccessFree to download

Discussion

Overarching topic coverage and performance

Topic area coverage

Performance by topic area: Foundation Tier

Performance by topic area: Higher Tier

Topic performance by grade

Difference in performance at selected grades by topic area: Foundation Tier

Difference in performance at selected grades and selected topics: Foundation Tier

GCSE Maths: Virtual communities 2020 Autumn 2020 Welcome 2 Copyright © 2020 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. Discussion Overarching topic coverage and performance 3 Copyright © 2020 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. Topic area coverage The weighting of the topic areas has been prescribed by Ofqual and is common to all exam boards. The table below shows the approximate weightings of the topic areas for the overall tier of assessment, not for each individual question paper. | Topic area | Foundation Tier (%) | Higher Tier (%) | | --- | --- | --- | | Number | 25 | 15 | | Algebra | 20 | 30 | | Ratio | 25 | 20 | | Geometry and measures | 15 | 20 | | Probability and statistics | 15 | 15 | Performance by topic area: Foundation Tier Mean Foundation Tier cohort performance (facility) by topic area for June 2017, 2018 and 2019 combined shown with the coverage for comparison | Topic area | Foundation Tier coverage (%) | Foundation Tier performance (%) | | --- | --- | --- | | Number | 25 | 51.01 | | Algebra | 20 | 33.77 | | Ratio | 25 | 43.68 | | Geometry and measures | 15 | 37.16 | | Probability and statistics | 15 | 45.18 | Performance by topic area: Higher Tier Mean Higher Tier cohort performance (facility) by topic area for June 2017, 2018 and 2019 combined | Topic area | Higher Tier coverage (%) | Higher Tier
performance (%) | | --- | --- | --- | | Number | 15 | 52.69 | | Algebra | 30 | 41.64 | | Ratio | 20 | 55.25 | | Geometry and measures | 20 | 45.63 | | Probability and statistics | 15 | 57.90 | Discussion Topic performance by grade 7 Copyright © 2020 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. Difference in performance at selected grades by topic area: Foundation Tier Difference in mean cohort performance by topic area for June 2017, 2018 and 2019 combined at selected grades | Topic area | Grades 4–3 (%) | Grades 5–4 (%) | | --- | --- | --- | | Number | 12.67 | 11.90 | | Algebra | 13.45 | 16.05 | | Ratio | 13.25 | 14.49 | | Geometry and measures | 15.18 | 15.95 | | Probability and statistics | 11.94 | 11.57 | Difference in performance at selected grades and selected topics: Foundation Tier Difference in mean cohort performance at selected topics for June 2017, 2018 and 2019 combined at selected grades | Topic | Grades 4–3 (%) | Grades 5–4 (%) | | --- | --- | --- | | Number | 12.67 | 11.90 | | N9 Standard form | 15.83 | 21.40 | | N10 Decimals to fractions and vice versa | 17.27 | 15.31 | | N15 Rounding, error notation | 13.12 | 21.38 | Difference in performance at selected grades and selected topics: Foundation Tier Difference in mean cohort performance at selected topics for June 2017, 2018 and 2019 combined at selected grades | Topic | Grades 4–3 (%) | Grades 5–4 (%) | | --- | --- | --- | | Geometry and measures | 15.18 | 15.95 | | G3 Angles at a point or in a triangle | 19.76 | 16.87 | | G7 Congruent and similar shapes | 15.44 | 18.71 | | G17 Perimeter and volume | 20.28 | 23.48 |

FAQs

What topic area weightings are used for Foundation Tier and Higher Tier?

The report lists Ofqual-prescribed approximate weightings for each topic area, including Number, Algebra, Ratio, Geometry and measures, and Probability and statistics, separately for Foundation Tier and Higher Tier.

How does mean cohort performance compare to topic area coverage in Foundation Tier?

Tables compare Foundation Tier coverage (%) with Foundation Tier performance (%) for June 2017–2019 combined, showing differences by topic area such as Number, Algebra, Ratio, Geometry and measures, and Probability and statistics.

Which elements does the report use to analyze performance by grade?

It presents differences in performance at selected grades by topic area and further breaks those differences down into selected topics for Foundation Tier, using mean cohort performance comparisons across June 2017–2019 combined.

Oct 20, 2026

Uploaded by acoobca