En KEY STAGE 3 2003 Changes to assessment 2003: guidance for teachers of key stage 3 English
Introduction The new end of key stage assessment in English does not signal a major upheaval in the curriculum for year 9. The best preparation for the tests will be, as it has always been, focused, lively and effective teaching. Many aspects of the tests are unchanged: unseen reading, two opportunities to assess writing and a response to a Shakespeare play remain the basic framework of the tests. There are, however, some differences which relate to the way questions are constructed, the weighting of marks and the construction of the mark schemes. The marking of writing, in particular, has been refined and specific criteria will replace the holistic best fit principle which has characterised marking in the past. The development of new key stage 3 tests in English is a continuation of the process that seeks to provide a more coherent approach to assessment across all key stages and incorporate the teaching objectives outlined in the English strand of the key stage 3 national strategy s Framework for teaching English. This has the potential to improve long term planning and provide more useful diagnostic information. The folder Making assessment work, published by the key stage 3 national strategy, is a valuable guide to the ways in which assessments can be used to improve target setting for individuals, groups and cohorts of pupils. This leaflet highlights the priorities for teaching English in year 9 and makes some practical suggestions about how English departments can familiarise themselves with the new material. It also suggests some classroom activities that will be useful in preparing pupils for the tests. The following documents will be useful: Changes to assessment 2003: sample materials for key stage 3 English (QCA/02/938), sent to schools in October 2002 The full set of papers available on the QCA website at www.qca.org.uk/ca/tests/2003sample from October 2002 The folder Making assessment work, in particular section 4, Diagnostic marking guidelines for writing Years 7 and 8 optional tests Years 7 and 8 optional test reports, available on the QCA website at www.qca.org.uk/ca/tests/optional/7_8optional.asp Standards at key stage 3 English (QCA/01/817) Year 9 booster material 2
How can English departments prepare for the tests? Preparation for the new tests will require departments to allocate meeting time for training in the autumn and spring terms, and this needs to be built into training plans. The suggestions below are flexible ways of ensuring that departments are well prepared and have formed a collective view of the nature of the tests. A good starting point would be to look at the 2003 sample materials alongside copies of last year s paper. Identify and clarify the key differences for yourselves. What are the differences in the structure of the reading questions? Is the range of reading material different? How are marks allocated? How is the Shakespeare reading question different? Layout? Timing? To be confident that you can prepare your pupils effectively, you need to be familiar with the mark schemes. The document Changes to assessment 2003: sample materials for key stage 3 English provides you with the rationale for the changes, but the following activities will allow you to try them out as a department. Use the scripts of the longer writing task in the sample materials and cut up the annotated notes. In pairs, match the annotations to the appropriate places in the scripts. Take the headings from the strands in the writing mark scheme and apply them to the scripts yourselves. You could work in pairs on the different strands. Make use of your own pupils work. Generate your own resources by giving a group of pupils the sample longer task and then choose a range of scripts to bring to the meeting. Collaborative marking of these scripts will develop your understanding of how the new mark schemes build up a cumulative picture of strengths and weaknesses. You will notice that the new mark schemes make no reference to levels. Look for evidence of the criteria being met rather than making holistic, generalised judgements about levels. This sort of activity will also generate a useful reference bank of exemplars which could be annotated in ways similar to the sample material. Use the Reading assessment focuses on page 5 of the sample materials to look at the different structures of the questions on the new Reading paper. Which of the assessment focuses is each question designed to address? Review the year 9 booster material, consider how best to use it and how to identify pupils who would benefit from these sessions. Are there any sections that could be adapted for use with other groups? 3
What are the best ways to prepare pupils for the tests? The most important aspect of work in year 9 needs to be teaching and learning. If your pupils have experienced a varied, exciting and challenging curriculum throughout year 9 they are likely to have developed the independent application of their skills needed to approach the test with confidence. Below are some suggestions for ways in which work through the year is also preparation for the tests. Prepare pupils for the range of text types they are likely to encounter in the reading booklet by providing them with plenty of opportunities for interrogating and investigating a wide range of texts. The wider their experience, the more confidently they will approach questions which ask them, for example, to identify and comment on the writer s purposes and viewpoint. Challenge pupils to expand, develop and justify their responses to texts through talk. Encourage them to illustrate their ideas, provide evidence and give examples. This is a valuable way of encouraging the skills of deduction and inference. Provide wide experience of and explicit teaching about the different forms of writing as set out in the Framework for teaching English. Articulate the decisions writers need to make before undertaking a piece of writing. Use modelling and commentary as a means of communicating this to pupils. Reinforce a range of strategies for checking the accuracy of their work. Teach the skills of text marking for particular purposes, using underlining or highlighters. In preparing for the Shakespeare paper, work with pupils on two scenes or sections, as always, within the context of the whole play. As in the past, pupils need to understand and be able to convey ideas about theme, character, language and performance, and the best way of doing this is to take an active approach which engages pupils in the whole play. Activities which use the play as a springboard for other sorts of writing and strengthen Speaking and listening will be valuable in developing pupils understanding of Shakespeare s language and characterisation, and prepare them for the writing task on the Shakespeare paper. The questions on the Reading paper and on Shakespeare are much more specific than in previous years. Consider the implications of this for your classroom questioning and discussion, for example by looking at texts used and devising questions aimed at particular assessment focuses. Make sure your pupils are conversant with the terminology they are likely to encounter in the test. Draw up a list of key words and phrases. Examples might include: tension, purpose, style, refer to details and explain. You can achieve this most successfully by embedding such language in work through the whole key stage, and not only in year 9. 4
Introducing the test to pupils Pupils need to be prepared to work under time constraints and need to be introduced to the format of the tests. A full set of sample papers is available to provide practice material and the year 8 optional test is similar in style. These sample papers can be found on the QCA website at www.qca.org.uk/ca/tests/2003sample Practice tests alone are not particularly helpful unless they provide detailed and constructive individual feedback, but pupils will benefit from carefully constructed, active lessons which allow them to assimilate the demands of the test papers. The Booster materials exemplify this kind of approach. The following suggestions provide ideas about how this might be done. In the lead-up to the tests, plan work that involves analysis of the questions, modelling answers and explicit teaching of how pupils can tackle the questions. Encourage discussion in pairs as well as whole-class teaching. Provide pupils with examples of weak responses and ask them to give focused feedback in which they identify weaknesses and suggest how the work could be improved. They could apply the mark schemes to their own work. Ask pupils to work in pairs to produce model answers and challenge them to justify the decisions they have made. Draw attention to the varied nature of the structure of the questions in the Reading paper. Although some longer answer questions remain, there is less continuous writing and increased use of other formats such as completing tables, which require precise answers. Formulate sensible advice to give to pupils. For example, the questions on the Reading paper are not progressively more difficult and pupils need to be reminded to persevere to the end. They need to be advised on using planning time effectively for the writing tasks. Finally, teachers already have considerable experience in preparing pupils for tests. Many of the suggestions here will be embedded in your work and that of your department. You will already have found highly effective ways of allowing pupils to demonstrate their potential whilst still maintaining a broad and stimulating curriculum in year 9. In considering the curriculum at the end of key stage 3, schools should seek to balance the need to make sensible preparations for the tests with the importance of this year as a period where a wide variety of skills (including Speaking and listening) are consolidated to prepare pupils for the demands of study at key stage 4. 5
Curriculum and Standards EARLY YEARS Audience Headteachers, English teachers of year 9 pupils and key stage 3 assessment and special educational needs coordinators NATIONAL CURRICULUM 5 16 Circulation lists Type Description Cross ref Action required LEAs, ITT institutions, educational libraries and teacher centres Guidelines The guidance in this leaflet highlights opportunities and activities in English lessons to focus attention on the new areas being assessed in the key stage 3 national curriculum tests in English for 2003 www.qca.org.uk/ca/tests/2003sample Changes to assessment 2003: sample materials for key stage 3 English To note changes to the key stage 3 national curriculum tests in English for 2003 GCSE GNVQ GCE A LEVEL NVQ Timing By May 2003 Contact See below OTHER VOCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS For school use First published in 2002 Qualifications and Curriculum Authority 2002 Reproduction, storage, adaptation or translation, in any form or by any means, of this publication is prohibited without prior written permission of the publisher, unless within the terms of the Copyright Licensing Agency. Excerpts may be reproduced for the purpose of research, private study, criticism or review, or by educational institutions solely for educational purposes, without permission, provided full acknowledgement is given. Printed in Great Britain. The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority is an exempt charity under Schedule 2 of the Charities Act 1993. Qualifications and Curriculum Authority 83 Piccadilly London W1J 8QA www.qca.org.uk/ For more information, contact: Customer Services, QCA, 83 Piccadilly, London W1J 8QA (tel: 020 7509 5556) www.qca.org.uk/ For more copies, contact: QCA Publications, PO Box 99, Sudbury, Suffolk CO10 2SN (tel: 01787 884444; fax: 01787 312950) Order ref: QCA/02/979 This leaflet is also available at www.qca.org.uk/ca/tests/2003sample