A New MCQ Question Format from AQA - Watch out!

Watch out all students taking AQA A Level Business in June 2018. A new MCQ question format has appeared on the AS Paper 1 which looks like it might become an examiner favourite.

When the first real A Level Paper 1 appeared in June 2017 we all discovered an MCQ question format that hadn't appeared on the specimen papers - the beloved "Two Statement Format" question. This appeared again in AS Paper 1 in May 2018.

Now a new style question has also been revealed for the first time - and it is easy to see why AQA may like this one!

Here's an example:

Question: Which of the following statements is true?

A: Quality assurance involves greater use of inspection during the production process

B: The population size is a demographic factor in the external environment

C: A hard approach to human resource management is likely to involve a high level of delegation

D: Reducing the average value of inventories held should result in a lower level of inventory turnover

Take a look at those four options: they test four very different parts of the specification!

• Quality
• Demographic changes
• Hard / Soft HRM
• Inventory turnover

... all in one question!

AQA is required to ensure that the whole specification is tested during the life of the specification. Using this style of question makes it much easier to achieve that coverage quicker, as well as test a wider range of the specification in each exam sitting!

[From an examining point of view - these questions are also much easier to write!]

Two of the 10 MCQs in AS Paper 1 May 2018 had this new style of question.