Available from:
www.curriculumpress.co.uk Cost :
£70.50 (inc. VAT)
System requirements: Windows 95, Microsoft Word or
Adobe Acrobat Reader. Reviewed: July 2001 |
Specimen questions is a resource aimed at the
new AS/A2 specifications and catering for all the major examination boards. The
disc covers the Pure, Statistics and Mechanics modules. It is a catalogue of MS
Word and Acrobat files which enables the user to create homework tasks, tests,
mock exams, and so on, all based on A-Level standard questions. The Pure
section contains 13 topics ranging from algebra to vectors, with each topic
consisting of at least 20 varied questions. The Statistics section contains 16
topics and the Mechanics 15. A databank of 750 questions is thus provided. Each
question has its own worked solution with mark scheme using the coding familiar
to A Level teachers of "M" and "A" marks.
I followed the instructions
and used "My Computer" to view the contents of the CD-ROM. There is no software
on the disc (apart from an Acrobat installer) so effectively you are looking at
a folder of Word files. With no help file or further guidance to glance at, I
opened the Pure Maths folder, to survey the 16 topics and at once hit the
essential problem with this product. It is not divided into modules. The Pure
Maths folder must attempt, I assume, to cover all of P1, P2 and P3. But I would
not want to create a written test for my students on all of those modules. In
fact, if the new modular examination system works correctly, there should be
very few students working on all three in any given year group. So, I need to
know which questions as from P1, which from P2, and so on. They appear to be
mixed up. For example, the Section titled "Differentiation 1" has question 1 on
differentiating xn, and question 2 on logs and exponentials. This
means I have the unwanted task of cataloging myself which questions go with
which module. I do not have the time for that (with 750 questions!) and I feel
this catalogue should have been part of the package. In addition, as there is
only one version of each individual question, there is a limit to the repeated
usability of the files. The questions themselves are fine.
An exam paper
can be produced simply by printing one of the topic files, but if you want to
create your own mix, then you have to do some skilfull cutting and pasting. The
questions themselves - and their solutions - come fully formatted, equations
being created with the equation editor found in Word.
The use of
"expanded markschemes" rather than simply fully worked solutions may have some
benefits when showing students where marks are to be won and lost, and the
solutions given are certainly clear enough and in the familair abbreviated
style of examiners' own mark schemes, but perhaps they could have been a little
more user-friendly, with clearer indication of exactly what each M or A mark
was awarded for.
There is nothing else on the disc. |
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