Advanced Higher Computing - Deceptive Paper

So the exam is going well. All the questions are easy and I finish in good time... or so I think.

See, the paper is divided into two sections. Naturally, the blank page within Section 1 would indicate the end of Section 1 and that you were to continue with either Part A, B, or C of Section 2. Indeed, the blank page stated "Turn over for...".

But no. Section 1 had not ended. There were 27 marks remaining behind the blank page that I missed out. I was looking to finish in good time so I overlooked the fact that the page indicated questions 4 and 5 and believed it was implying to move on to Section 2.

This is very unfair, in my opinion. The questions I missed were again, very easy and the section on Object Oriented Programming was what I knew the best! The front of the paper didn't even say how many questions were in Section 1 and other people missed the questions too.

Both our Computing Teachers sweared that someone would miss them out... and more than one of us did. Quite unbelievable when the two questions, 4 and 5, could individually fit onto a single page yet for some reason they shove a blinder before 4, completely concealing the questions.

I needed at least 70% to get an A. Missing out those questions means I'll only have had 9 marks leeway elsewhere. Now, the other questions were straight-forward but everyone makes a few mistakes somewhere. Two questions were difficult, deducting 5 marks from the 9 marks required. Thus I had 4 marks to spare on mistakes...

I'm not so sure whether those are 4 marks I had or 4 marks I lost.

Anyone else suffered from this?

I don't need my results this year for Uni, but I certainly will complain to SQA to ensure future papers are better structured and less deceptive.

Reply 1

ScoCmac

It said on that Page Turn over for questions 4 on 5 of section 1 or something along that line fair enough question 4 could have been on that page however question 5 was across 2 pages so its likely they decided ok this stuff can go here so you dont need to flip back and forwards. You should have also noticed it didnt say End of Section 1 frankly I thought it was a decent paper but some things I feel I could have done better on but thats life.

Reply 2

SEljamel

Yes, that is life.

Life is unfair... and it was my fault but...

When you drop a subject half-way through the year and decide to focus your efforts on Computing, only to find you'd missed out questions that you could've easily answered... you become disheartened.

I was so happy when I came out of the exam thinking I'd aced it.

Reply 3

GuitaringEgg

I feel it was unnecessary to have it like that. They could have put the blank page at the end of the section. I was about to miss it out, I'd wrote my details on the second paper until I turned the page and saw the extra questions. I did fell that only 3 questions was a little short for section one, but it was easily possible.

It's possible depending on the number of people who missed those question out that they will take the missed questions into consideration when giving a final mark.

Reply 4

fragle

SEljamel

On a positive note- you didn't need it, and you can be sure that you wont ever make the same mistake agian - imagine if this was your uni hons exams - one shot at thoses. Hope others that needed this did not make the same mistake.