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What you need to know about exam specs, resources and examiner feedback
From start to finish AAT has you covered in terms of your qualifications.
When you start a qualification it’s important to know what you are going to be studying, in other words what is covered in the syllabus. This information is documented in the qualification specifications (specs). Next you are likely to think about what resources you are going to use to learn the knowledge required and practise the skills needed to successfully pass your assessment. Once you have completed a unit and your thoughts turn to the upcoming assessment, you might also want to take advantage of feedback that is based on previous students’ performance to help you avoid making common mistakes.
AAT specifications are lengthy, formal documents which you are unlikely to want to read all the way through but they are invaluable and underused resources that are good to dip into on a unit by unit basis.
Tips for using a spec
1
Know where to look
Specs are in the ‘qualification overview’ in the Learning Portal not the individual units.
2
Skip to the unit
If you just want to see the syllabus for a unit use the ‘Contents’ to find the relevant page number.
3
Understand the terms and layout
Each unit is split into learning outcomes (LOs). These state what you are expected to know or be able to do, as a result of completing the unit. There are both ‘understanding’ and ‘skills’ criteria, the first is generally theory or fact based and the latter practical. The LOs provide a framework and each is expanded via topics and concepts to produce the syllabus.
4
Understand the relationship between content and assessments
The specifications state that students must have the opportunity to cover all the unit content but that it will not all be assessed. This is because whilst all unit content will be included in AAT’s bank of live assessments, it will not all be assessed in each exam.
Once you know what you will be learning, thinking about resources is next, which may be printed or online. It is likely that your tutor or training provider will have resources for you to work through and/or a preferred textbook they’d recommend you get. AAT has dedicated resources on its lifelong learning portal and AAT Comment website. All of these resources will be based on the LOs contained within the Specs.
Think outside the boxes!
Try not to limit yourself to the traditional resources at your disposal. One of the best resources you can use to clarify your knowledge and understanding of theories, concepts and your interpretation of questions or scenarios, are your fellow students. Talking about what you are learning and explaining it to each other, will help you embed that knowledge into your long term memory.
The value of feedback
You should receive regular feedback throughout your learning experience, perhaps from meetings with a tutor and/or via incorrect and correct answer feedback to individual online questions if you study in a remote or blended way. AAT’s examiner reports are another source of invaluable feedback.
AAT examiner reports at a glance
1
Based on the performance and results of actual exam sittings
2
Highlight key areas of strength and areas for improvement
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Can be used to avoid common mistakes
Tips regarding the examiners’ reports
1. Know where to look
a) Examiner reports are in the individual units in the Learning Portal,
2. Use them to guide your learning and revision
a) Ensure you understand the topics, and can successfully perform the tasks, that students in general find hard. However, be careful not to neglect topics just because people tend to perform well in them.
3. Use the AAT Comment summaries
a) Reports were released in October 2023 and Study Tips published summaries of the weak areas in each unit and provided links to other Comments to support understanding of the topics:
b) What you can learn from the Level 2 Examiner’s reports
c) What you can learn from the Level 3 Examiner’s reports
d) What you can learn from the Level 4 Examiner’s reports
Key takeaway
As an accounting professional, learning will be a continuous part of your career development. Therefore, it is important to know that AAT resources will support you, from the start to finish of each unit that you undertake, within each level of the qualification.
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