Q & A on NSS Curriculum and Assessment Framework Liberal Studies

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Lee Hoover
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1 Q & A on NSS Curriculum and Assessment Framework Liberal Studies 1. What are the results of the third consultation on the curriculum and assessment framework on Liberal Studies held during September-November 2006? The main focus of the third consultation on the LS curriculum and assessment was public assessment. The results of the consultation were very positive. About 90% of colleagues who attended the consultation seminars approved the public assessment framework. More than 90% supported the proposal that 20% of the public assessment score should be allocated to Independent Enquiry Study (IES). More than 90% approved the design of Paper I, and generous suggestions were also given on the detailed arrangements for Paper II and the IES. We have considered these suggestions and have slightly revised the public assessment design. 2. What are the differences and similarities between the Provisional Final Draft and the finalized Curriculum and Assessment Guide? Both are the same in that the assessment framework consists of public examination and school-based assessment (SBA), but the assessment designs are slightly different in the examination duration of Paper II: Public Assessment The Provisional Final Draft The Finalised C&A Guide Components Content Weighting Exam Duration Content Weighting Exam Duration Public Examination Data- 50% 2 hrs. Data- 50% 2 hrs. (Paper I) (Paper I) Extended- 30% 1 hr. Extended- 30% 1 hr. 15 min. (Paper II) (Paper II) Schoolbased Assessment Independent Enquiry Study 20% Independent Enquiry Study 20% 1

2 3. What is the relationship between school-based assessment and public examination? How will SBA marks be moderated? The overall grade entered for Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Liberal Studies will consist of the performance in public examination and that in school-based assessment. The public examination will include different types of questions to assess students understanding and abilities to demonstrate Liberal Studies-related skills, but the result of a one-off examination may not reliably and fully reflect a candidate s abilities. School-based Assessment (SBA), being an extension of public assessment, can diminish the over-reliance on public examination results and raise the overall validity of the assessment. The HKEAA will apply a statistical method to moderate the results of SBA. The method is to take each school as a unit for moderation, compare students from this unit in the public examination with units from other schools with comparable results in the public examination, and make subsequent adjustments regarding the strictness in SBA. After the moderation, there is no change in the SBA ranking of students as arranged by teachers in each school. The degree of the moderation will depend on the coefficient relating the results of the public examination of that year and the SBA results of the same year. This mechanism can accommodate the different degrees of strictness across schools and is a widely adopted and the preferred method. 4. How should students carry out the Independent Enquiry Study (IES)? What are the assessment criteria for the IES? The IES is a self-directed learning process that enables students to raise questions, to search for answers, and to review the process of enquiry. In the IES, students need to explore issues related to this subject and demonstrate skills such as problem-solving, data collection, analysis and communication. The main body of the IES report can be of written or non-written format. Presentation in the non-written format needs to be accompanied by a short text which carries the main ideas of the report and the student s reflection about the contents of the report. The IES process can be divided into three stages. The contents of the stages of the 2

3 enquiry and the foci of assessment for each stage are as follows: The IES Enquiry Process Stage I Selecting area / theme of study, collecting background information, formulating project title and work plan Stage II Collecting and organising data/other kinds of information Stage III Analysing data / information, examining different points of view, presenting the study results and showing them in suitable ways Foci of Assessment Project proposal, independent Data collection, independent Assignments, independent 5. Under the New Academic Structure of 334, is Liberal Studies one of the requirements for admissions of the universities? The Heads of Universities Committee has already announced the university admissions arrangements under the New Academic Structure. The university heads have indicated clearly their support for a curriculum that provides a broadened foundation and more pluralistic options to match students abilities and interests. Beginning from 2012/13, universities will require students to have studied the four core subjects namely Chinese Language, English Language, Mathematics and Liberal Studies. In addition to these subjects, most universities will include one elective subject in their entrance requirements and in some cases, a second elective from a wider group of subjects. 6. What will be the teacher-student ratio in Liberal Studies? In the teaching and learning of Liberal Studies, a range of strategies can be adopted to match the different goals of individual lesson and the different needs of students. Certain strategies will be more effective when applied to classes of fewer students while other strategies will be equally effective when applied towards 3

4 classes of a larger number of students. Thus, in order to make the most effective use of resources, including the Senior Secondary Curriculum Support Grant, to employ teachers and teaching assistants, we recommend schools to adopt flexible timetabling arrangements to group students more flexibly according to their learning needs rather than rigidly adopting smaller class size for teaching during the entire academic year. 7. Is it suitable to study Liberal Studies through textbooks? The quality of textbooks for junior secondary Liberal Studies now available in the market varies a great deal. Although some might provide abundant information, the types and formats of the materials are fairly limited and many of them do not embody multiple perspectives. Furthermore, learning activities that are not well-designed limit the freedom for students enquiry and would hinder the development of higher order thinking. In fact, the learning resources for Liberal Studies need not be limited to textbooks. Other and different kinds of learning and teaching resources may also be used to facilitate learning. Based on the paths of enquiry of students, Liberal Studies teachers should respond correspondingly and stimulate enquiry in the hot topics that emerge in society. Textbooks can hardly handle these aspects. 8. How should EMI secondary schools select suitable learning and teaching materials? What supportive measures in Liberal Studies are available from EMB to EMI secondary schools? The Liberal Studies learning materials provided to students by schools should mainly be in the language adopted as the medium of instruction (MOI). Yet, in view of the nature of Liberal Studies, students are often required to come into touch with authentic materials and resources, and that these materials and resources might not necessarily be available in the school s MOI. Under such circumstances, there is no need for EMI schools to avoid Liberal Studies materials in Chinese. Likewise, CMI schools need not stay away from materials in English. In order to assist schools to make sound preparation for NSS Liberal Studies, the EMB and the HK Education City have been collaborating to construct a resources platform (website: through which a one-stop service that includes learning and teaching materials as well as reference materials is provided 4

5 in both Chinese and English. Besides, the EMB plans to offer a professional development programme on Learning and teaching Liberal Studies in the EMI context to assist LS teachers in EMI secondary schools in mastering the strategies required to teach this subject. 9. When must students, preparing to take the NSS Liberal Studies examination, choose the examining language? What are the language rules regarding the IES reports? The EMB has decided to put in place a four-year MOI transition period in Liberal Studies, starting in 2009, and the HKEAA will provide candidates with questions in both Chinese and English in the public examinations from 2012 to Candidates may choose which language they use to answer and will not be required to declare the chosen language in advance. Schools may flexibly arrange the language used in the IES reports during the four-year transition period, after which the language used in IES reports should be the same as the schools MOI in LS. 10. How should schools help students in the junior secondary stage to make sound preparation for NSS Liberal Studies? The design of the New Secondary Curriculum is based on the Basic Education Curriculum Guide (Primary 1 Secondary 3) developed by CDC in Throughout basic education, schools develop generic skills in the various Key Learning Areas (KLA), and implement the Key Tasks of Reading to Learn, Project Learning, Moral and Civic Education, and Information Technology for Interactive Learning. These strategies lay a solid foundation to enable students to study Liberal Studies in future. Schools may therefore, base on Basic Education Curriculum Guide (Primary 1 Secondary 3) and take students needs and their school-based strengths into account, develop school based curricula flexibly, provided that the basic curriculum time of each Key Learning Area should not reduced thus weakening students acquisition of concepts and basic knowledge. For example, the curriculum time for the Personal, Social and Humanities Education KLA should not be less than 15% of the total curriculum time. - The End - 5

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ESTONIA. spotlight on VET. Education and training in figures. spotlight on VET Education and training in figures Upper secondary students (ISCED 11 level 3) enrolled in vocational and general % of all students in upper secondary education, 14 GERAL VOCATIONAL 1 8 26.6 29.6 6.3 2.6