June 2003 2508 paper
OCR Computing AS and A Level Discussion Board: 2508 - Computer Systems Development and Practical Applications: June 2003 2508 paper
just done my as retake of this paper, it seemed a bit better than last summer, but asked for too many advantages to things, and gave hardly any scope to say the downside of things, any one else find this annoying? hope they mark it properly this time!
dave
it was a very good paper. finished in quite good time, and i felt it covered the specification quite well. there were no difficult questions, as such, but there was one problem.
A batch total and hash total in stock control was not mentioned in the syllabus, and consequently a lot of the people taking it had no idea what these were!
yes i agree there were very few 'state the advantages and disadvantages' of xxx. There were just the advantages. Maybe the exam board trying to prove a point about computers?
yep, the hash total thing was weird! i put someting about it being the total no. of batches, and the batch total the number in a batch. i suppose its ok if we all get it wrong, as it wont affect the grades. what did you put? i couldnt find an anser even on the net afterwards!
dave
Absolutely outrageous that there should be a question not in the specification!! What on earth were they thinking of? Not only is it not in the syllabus it isn't mentioned in any of the textbooks nor is it possible to find out on the net. I don't think we should just sit back on this and do nothing. I for one shall be complaining!!
Yeah it is an outrage. Whether it is wise to complain to the board about one question i don't know. There is no answer to this in any of my textbooks, and i agree it was a stupid question to put in. I can't remember what i put.
This topic is well covered in Pat Heathcote's Computing - chapter 30 in the 4th edition. I don't feel it's an unfair question. It comes under validation and verification in section 5.3.3. It's a harder than average question, but there have to be some of these in every paper.
Yeah, last time I got about 29/90 (ums) which was bitterly disappointing considering I got 80/90 and 110/120 for the 2506 and 2507 respectively. This time around I think I've done a lot better because the questions seem a lot less ambiguous and I was able to answer them clearly and concisely. I agree that not many people will have gotten the hash total/control total right because it's not mentioned in the syllabus - indeed, they were mentioned in the GCSE ICT syllabus, but the control total was mentioned under a different name, can't remember what it was offhand.
But yes, a lot better this time hopefully.
I also think the question on paper 2508 re hash total should not have been put on the paper. As a teacher I am questioning this with the Board and suggest as many of us as can do the same. They may then take notice.
TIm,
You really must be joking or you are rather smug. How can you say that you are satisified when the topic in question is NOT in the spec. and NOT everyone can afford all the textbooks and expect to have a photograqphic memory too.
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