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Higher tier maths

i am in year 10, doing foundation maths. I have done paper 2 from both foundation and higher tiers today and i got a 2 in foundation and a 4 in higher? i'm really confused on how i did that but i guess it's because its easier to get a pass on higher. I really want to do higher tier for my GCSE's as i think i will succeed more and my personal target is a 5/6 depending on which tier. So should i ask to be moved to higher or stick with foundation????

Reply 1

Dancer2001

I would ask to do the higher paper, but you might need to teach yourself some of the content so you can attempt the later questions. If you have a bad day on the exam, it’s easier to pass on a higher paper.

Reply 2

Studybuddy24/7

What is your actual predicted grade for foundation

Reply 3

ffayedaniels

my target is 5 and my target is 4

What is your actual predicted grade for foundation

Reply 4

Studybuddy24/7

if in higher tier you are also predicted 5 it may be better to do foundation as you have less content to learn and you can focus on all the topics, for a much longer time, many schools recommend if you are predicted a 5 to do foundation, then again if you believe there is a possibility of you being able to get even near a 6 in higher then it may be worthwhile. Im not trying to stop you btw, just trying to give you some perspective, hope it helps

Reply 5

ffayedaniels

i was thinking that but my exam board is AQA and i looked at previous grade boundaries... to get a 4 in paper 1 for foundation you need 41 marks and for higher you need 16 but i know the questions are harder though

Original post by Studybuddy24/7

Reply 6

username3973192

Original post by ffayedaniels

Dunno about AQA but I think you should stick with foundation, higher is gonna be hell this year in my prediction.

Reply 7

Studybuddy24/7

same i agree it is going to be a massive jump

Original post by thestudent33

Dunno about AQA but I think you should stick with foundation, higher is gonna be hell this year in my prediction.

Reply 8

_gcx

Study Forum Helper

I think the general advice is to do the questions shared between higher and foundation, found at the end of foundation tier papers and the start of higher tier papers. If you cope well with these, you may be better served entering for higher. If you struggle, you may want to be entered for foundation. It is generally not easier to pass a higher tier paper, though the grade boundaries make it seem that way. You have a while to decide this and is something you should think about closer to the time.

Original post by thestudent33

Dunno about AQA but I think you should stick with foundation, higher is gonna be hell this year in my prediction.

I don't think tier choices should be based on (anyone's, even teachers) guesses on how the exam next year is going to be, we just don't know.

Reply 9

ibyghee

It's because you need nearly full marks to get a 5 in foundation maths paper, and if you gain just a few in higher you get a pass.

Reply 10

username3973192

Original post by _gcx

For the edexcel spec, imo I think it's gonna be MUCH harder this year because last year was easy, too easy.

do higher

Original post by thestudent33

For the edexcel spec, imo I think it's gonna be MUCH harder this year because last year was easy, too easy.

I was just saying that predictions should not advise tier choices since they can easily be inaccurate. In any case - if the paper is harder then the grade boundaries will be lower, in order for roughly the same proportions to achieve each grade, (though they are also determined based on qualitative evidence) so even if the predictions were accurate, it would still not be a good way to judge.

Reply 13

SarcAndSpark

Original post by ffayedaniels

It's easier to get a 4/5 in higher because the pass mark is so much lower- however, the risk is if you don't get enough marks, you end up with nothing, whereas on foundation you'd still get a grade. In the first sittings of some exams, I know some exam boards put a 3 on higher tier, but they have categorically said they won't be doing this in the future.

Exam tier entries are not set in stone until about the February before you take your exams. Personally, I would wait and see what happens to grade boundaries this summer and then have a conversation with your teachers in September about grade boundaries and which paper would be best for you- they may be very happy for you to do higher if you are keen!

Reply 14

Notnek

Original post by thestudent33

For the edexcel spec, imo I think it's gonna be MUCH harder this year because last year was easy, too easy.

What are you basing this on? The boundaries were still very low compared to the old spec which shows that it’s still “hard”. I don’t see why just because the papers were easier than the previous year means they’ll get harder again the next year.

Reply 15

ffayedaniels

I agree the boundaries are very low for higher, i just don't want to risk not getting 40 ish marks when if i do higher i only need about 15 or 16. I did a past paper yesterday for both tiers and i got a 2 in foundation ( 26 marks ) and a 4 in higher ( 16 marks )

Original post by SarcAndSpark

Reply 16

SarcAndSpark

Original post by ffayedaniels

I totally accept this point of view, especially if you're prone to making mistakes with arithmetic etc. I think this is a very valid point to make with your teachers and one I'm sure they will listen to.

I do think it's worth remembering you haven't covered all the course content yet, which will be limiting the grades you can achieve on either paper.

Can I also check that you're using summer grade boundaries? The ones from November are a bit skewed because it's only resit students taking the exams.

I'm sure you'll do lots more formal exam prep in school before the final decision is made, and you and your teachers can use that to inform your decision.