Report on the 2015 WACE examination in

Applied Information Technology Stage 3

Year / Number who sat / Number of absentees
2015 / 723 / 21
2014 / 547 / 25
2013 / 769 / 17

Examination score distribution

Summary

Attempted by 723 Candidates Mean 60.69% Max 90.32% Min 3.81%

Section means were:

Section One: Multiple-choice

Mean 7.14%(/10) Max 10.00% Min 2.50%

Section Two: Short answer and extended answer

Mean 20.58%(/35) Max 33.69% Min 1.31%

Section Two: Short answer and extended answer

Mean 9.53%(/15) Max 15.00% Min 0.75%

Section Three: Response/Production

Mean 23.53%(/40) Max 37.10% Min 4.84%

The mean score for the examination was almost identical to that for the 2014 paper. Overall, the examination provided the top students with the opportunity to achieve high scores, while the spread in scores indicated that it discriminated well.

Section percentage means and ranges were:

Section One: Multiple-choice Mean 7.14%(/10) Max 10.00% Min 2.50%

Section Two: Short answerMean 20.58%(/35) Max 33.69% Min 1.31%

Section Two: Extended answer Mean 9.53%(/15) Max 15.00% Min 0.75%

Section Three: Response/Production Mean 23.53%(/40) Max 37.10% Min 4.84%

In Section One: Multiple- choice, the majority of the candidates scored well. Questions 9 and 18 were the most difficult while Questions 2, 7 and 14 were the easiest.

The meanof Section Two: Short and extended answer was 60.1%. Questions 22 and 24 were the easiest, both with means greater than 75%, while Questions 23 and28 were the most difficult, both with means less than 50%.

Section Three: Response/Production consisted of one question divided into a number of partsand having an overall mean of 58.8%. The easiest parts of the question were (b) and (h) and the most difficult parts were (f) and (g).

General comments

In general, questions involving file types,hardware and software and its implications for use were not answered well.

Advice for candidates

  • Candidates are urged to read the syllabus thoroughly to ensure that they know which points refer to knowledge, and which refer to skills.
  • Candidates should understand the difference between key verbs such as list, describe, outline and analyse. These verbs are clues to the depth required for appropriate answers.
  • Candidates are encouraged to read questions fully and note carefully thekey verbs used.

Advice for teachers

Teachers are encouraged to ensure that

  • all syllabus areas are covered by their students.
  • students have had sufficient practise of the more complex skills (such as use of appropriate tools to evaluate the effectiveness of the digital project in accordance with the design brief, or critical analysis of the relationship(s) between elements and principles of design) as these require substantial repetition for mastery.

Comments on specific sections and questions

Section One: Multiple-choice Attempted by 723 Candidates

Mean 7.14%(/10)Max 10.00%Min 2.50%

Section One (Multiple-choice) produced an overall mean of 71.4%. Questions 2, 7 and14were the easiest questions in this section, all withmeans greater than 0.95. Questions9 and 18were the hardest, both with means less than 0.35.

Question 1 Attempted by 723 CandidatesMean 0.80(/1)Max 1Min 0

Question 2 Attempted by 723 CandidatesMean 0.95(/1)Max 1Min 0

Almost all candidates demonstrated a good understanding of the purpose of data encryption.

Question 3 Attempted by 723 CandidatesMean 0.67(/1)Max 1Min 0

This question asked candidates to identify the least important piece of hardware necessary to for a computer to function.

Question 4 Attempted by 723 CandidatesMean 0.77(/1)Max 1Min 0

Question 5 Attempted by 723 CandidatesMean 0.90(/1)Max 1Min 0

Question 6 Attempted by 723 CandidatesMean 0.92(/1)Max 1Min 0

Question 7 Attempted by 723 CandidatesMean 0.96(/1)Max 1Min 0

Almost all candidates demonstrated a good understanding of this aspect of security procedures.

Question 8 Attempted by 723 CandidatesMean 0.86(/1)Max 1Min 0

Question 9 Attempted by 723 CandidatesMean 0.34(/1)Max 1Min 0

The low mean for this question suggests that few candidates understood which file type was appropriate for a specific application.

Question 10 Attempted by 723 CandidatesMean 0.87(/1)Max 1Min 0

Question 11 Attempted by 723 CandidatesMean 0.64(/1)Max 1Min 0

Question 12 Attempted by 723 CandidatesMean 0.57(/1)Max 1Min 0

Question 13 Attempted by 723 CandidatesMean 0.52(/1)Max 1Min 0

Although a clue was given to candidates regarding improving access the resultant mean of 0.52 was an indication that they need to read the question/s carefully.

Question 14 Attempted by 723 CandidatesMean 0.95(/1)Max 1Min 0

Almost all candidates demonstrated a good understanding of this aspect of security procedures.

Question 15 Attempted by 723 CandidatesMean 0.42(/1)Max 1Min 0

Few candidates demonstrated a good understanding of this aspect of security procedures.

Question 16 Attempted by 723 CandidatesMean 0.92(/1)Max 1Min 0

Question 17 Attempted by 723 CandidatesMean 0.43(/1)Max 1Min 0

Web 3 technologies continue to challenge most candidates.

Question 18 Attempted by 723 CandidatesMean 0.23(/1)Max 1Min 0

This question required the candidates to differentiate between ‘verify’ and ‘correct’. The low mean could be attributed to candidates’misunderstanding of the meanings of these words.

Question 19 Attempted by 723 CandidatesMean 0.65(/1)Max 1Min 0

Question 20 Attempted by 723 CandidatesMean 0.91(/1)Max 1Min 0

Section Two A: Short answer and extended answer

Attempted by 723 Candidates

Mean 20.58%(/35)Max 33.69%Min 1.31%

Question 24 was the easiest short-answer item, with a mean of 83.3%, while Question 23 was the hardest with a mean of 40.6%. The overall mean of Section Two: Short answer was 58.8%. Question 29, the extended-answer item, had a mean of 63.6%. In general, few candidates displayed a consistently high level of conceptual understanding in questions relating to networking and usability of hardware.

Question 21 Attempted by 719 CandidatesMean 3.92(/6)Max 6Min 0

Parts (a) and (b) were answered well generally, but many candidates struggled to provide more than one hardware specification for this server in part (c).

Question 22 Attempted by 723 CandidatesMean 6.24(/8)Max 8Min 0.5

Both parts (a) and (b) were answered well generally, with many candidates providing a good range of advantages of cloud storage.

Question 23 Attempted by 698 CandidatesMean 3.25(/8)Max 8Min 0

This question required candidates to answer a series of questions related to Service Level Agreements (SLA). With a mean slightly over 50% it is clear that too few candidates have a solid understanding of this concept. Part (b) proved to be particularly difficult for most candidates to answer.

Question 24 Attempted by 719 CandidatesMean 3.33(/4)Max 4Min 0

Both parts were answered very well.

Question 25 Attempted by 705 CandidatesMean 1.62(/3)Max 3Min 0

While candidates provide a range of answers,too many related to inclusivity rather than usability.

Question 26 Attempted by 712 CandidatesMean 1.78(/3)Max 3Min 0

While some candidates provided strong explanations of the relationship between the elements and principles of design and gave good examples, others struggled. This is a key concept of this course and the relatively low mean was disappointing.

Question 27 Attempted by 710 CandidatesMean 1.17(/2)Max 2Min 0

Candidates were required to provide two examples of the types of information that can be requested from government agencies under the Freedom of Information Act. Most provided one correctanswer, but many struggled to provide a second.

Question 28 Attempted by 654 CandidatesMean 2.71(/6)Max 6Min 0

This proved to be a difficult question, requiring candidates to describe how hardware and software vendors evaluate the usability of their products. In part (a), most candidates described the process of benchmarking, but did not relate this to computer hardware. In part (b)alsomany candidates obviously understood the concept, but were unable to relate itto software vendors.

Section Two B: Short answer and extended answer Attempted by 721 Candidates

Mean 9.53%(/15)Max 15.00%Min 0.75%

In the extended-answer section candidates were required to provide greater depth when addressing the concepts related to access to sensitive and personal information. For the most part the candidates were successful as the mean of 63.55% would suggest.

Question 29 Attempted by 721 CandidatesMean 12.71(/20)Max 20Min 1

Part (a) required candidates to identify personal and sensitive information from the list provided. It was an easy start to the extended answer section and was answered well, although some candidates evidently misread the question and devised their own list rather than identifying information from the listprovided. In parts (b)(i) and (b)(ii), most candidates knew that‘data mart’ and ‘data warehouse’referred to places of data storage, but few mentioned analysis of the data. Parts (c), (d) and (e) were answered well.

Section Three: Response/Production Attempted by 721 Candidates

Mean 23.53%(/40)Max 37.10%Min 4.84%

Section Three consisted of one question with a number of parts andinvolvedplanning, designing and evaluating a website tailored to a client’s specific needs. In the early stages of the question, parts(a) to (h) stepped the candidates through the design process leading to the production of an annotated design brief. It was pleasing that many candidates were able to express their understanding of the syllabus content by producing a design brief and an annotated layout. Relatively fewhowever produced clear, well-designed interfaces with annotations linked clearly to the item being described. Parts (d), (e), (f) and (g) were answered poorly indicating that the concepts involved were not understoodwell.

Question 30 Attempted by 721 CandidatesMean 36.46(/62)Max 57.5Min 7.5

Parts (a), (b), (c) and (h) were answered well. Part (d) had a low mean with many answers being general in nature and lacking any explanation or specific detail. In part (e), few provided valid reasons why CMS can help to simplify maintenance of the website.Parts (f) and (g) were particularly challenging with many candidates struggling to provide appropriate answers.The majority of answers to part (h) were well presented and were based on the concept of copyright. Part (i), the home page creation, was done well. The most successful candidates followed the instructions to produce a clear and well-designed homepage. In part (j) the majority of candidates provided and discussed the use of one tool, but many struggled to provide the three tools asked for.

WACE Examination Report: Applied Information Technology Stage 31