GCSE Sciences - Marking and improving student outcomes in practical work questions - Support booklet and further information

Oct 20, 2026

Uploaded by Logic

Marking and improving student outcomes in practical work questions: a support booklet providing clear guidance on how to interpret and apply GCSE Science mark schemes. It explains the “Information to examiners” section and details how points-based mark schemes represent correct answers, marking points for prose and calculation steps, extra credit-worthy alternatives, and assessment objectives/specification coverage. It also covers conventions such as brackets, allow/ignore, and do not accept, and includes examples for calculation and levels-of-response questions with indicative content expectations.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages55

Reading Time2 h 19 min

AccessFree to download

GCSE Science mark schemes: the ‘Information to examiners’ section

The points-based mark scheme

The levels of response mark scheme

GCSE Science generic level descriptors

Example student responses from Summer 2018 papers

Presentation slides

GCSE Sciences Marking and improving student outcomes in practical work questions Support booklet and further information Published: January 2019 Contents | Contents | Page | | --- | --- | | GCSE Science mark schemes: the ‘Information to examiners’ section | 4 | | The points-based mark scheme | 8 | | The levels of response mark scheme | 10 | | GCSE Science generic level descriptors | 11 | | Example student responses from Summer 2018 papers | 14 | | Presentation slides | 45 | GCSE Science mark schemes The ‘Information to examiners’ section The following information is present at the front of every GCSE Science mark scheme. It gives clear and explicit information to examiners on what the various parts of a mark scheme mean, and how to apply them to ensure consistency of marking. The points-based mark scheme Below is an example points-based mark scheme. It is taken from the summer 2018 GCSE Chemistry 2H Paper. The ‘Answers’ column shows the correct answer(s) . • For longer prose questions, the individual marking points are shown. • For calculations, this column will be set out in a series of steps showing the expected method. The ‘Extra information’ column expands on what is required or indicates other credit-worthy alternative answers. The final column lists the Assessment Objective(s) the question addresses and the areas of the specification that the question covers. Different marking points may cover different Assessment Objectives or specification references. Brackets indicate information that does not need to be included to gain the mark. ‘allow’ is used to indicate alternative answers that are worthy of credit. ‘ignore’ indicates a statement that doesn’t gain credit, but which doesn’t cancel the marking point. ‘do not accept’ means a wrong answer, which cannot be credited. The points-based mark scheme: calculation questions Below is an example points-based mark scheme for a calculation question. It is taken from the summer 2018 GCSE Physics 1H Paper. The same principles for brackets, allow, ignore, do not allow etc apply as for a prose question. The levels of response mark scheme This example is taken from the summer 2018 GCSE Biology 2H paper. It is for a 6-mark‘Design/plan’ question (see generic levels descriptors, below) . Each command word has a generic set of levels descriptors. The number of marks for each Assessment Objective are shown, along with the specification references The indicative content shows the scientific points a student could use in their response. The list is not exhaustive, and students could use other ideas. Students do not need to include all of the indicative points to gain full marks.

FAQs

What is the purpose of the ‘Information to examiners’ section in the GCSE Science mark schemes?

It provides clear, explicit instructions on what each part of a mark scheme means and how to apply it consistently when marking.

How does a points-based mark scheme show answers for different question types?

It uses an ‘Answers’ column for correct answer(s), shows individual marking points for longer prose questions, and presents expected calculation methods as a sequence of steps.

What do “allow”, “ignore”, and “do not accept” mean in the mark scheme?

“Allow” indicates alternative credited answers, “ignore” indicates statements that don’t gain credit but don’t cancel a marking point, and “do not accept” marks wrong answers that cannot be credited.

Oct 20, 2026

Uploaded by Logic