What you said

What we changed for January 2023 and all future series

Additional improvements in IAL Physics for May/June 2023

In IAL Physics, it isn’t always clear in some questions what content is being assessed.

We have now added a sentence within some of our longer context questions, outlining the Physics content to be considered when answering the question.

Where appropriate, our Physics exam papers will include questions divided into parts. It will be clearer where marks can be achieved, and some questions can be attempted in smaller pieces.

You can see examples of what this will look like here 

Following a review of our IAL Science question papers, we targeted greater consistency across the suite of Science qualifications for our extended open response and linkage questions.

Where appropriate, additional scaffolding will be added to our extended open response and linkage questions, to help students access the questions and be clear about the Physics content being assessed.

In IAL Physics, the contexts used in papers are too long and UK centric.

We have introduced new guidelines to ensure that the context-based questions are written concisely.

We have reviewed the contexts we use in assessments to ensure these better represent the students taking the qualifications.

We are continuing to monitor the clarity of language and the layout used in our context-based questions.

All Physics question papers are now reviewed by a language specialist with science subject knowledge, to ensure the language and contexts used are accessible and appropriate for your students.

In Section B, question contexts increase in demand appropriately, so that, where possible, more extended contexts are reserved for later in the question paper.

What you said

What we have changed for all future series

Assessments do not represent our diverse range of students.

All assessment writers and examining teams are taking part in our new Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion training program to ensure our assessments are representative and accessible to all students taking these qualifications.

In 2021, Pearson developed the Global Content & Editorial Policy (GCEP) and Diversity Guidance Sets as resources to support anyone producing or reviewing content in Pearson. Training on the DE&I concepts and how to use these resources is being rolled out to Assessment Associates across the General Qualification division through interactive workshops and focused sessions which allow for subject-specific discussion and support.

Additionally, the production of diverse and inclusive content for our markets across the world is further supported by guidance on global cultural sensitives.